Morris Smith came from a farming family in Nebraska and enlisted into the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He trained as a Radio Operator in Sioux Falls South Dakota then moving to Lowery Field Colorado where he was assigned to Howard Kottke's crew with 707th Sqdn 446th BG.



He kept a diary of all his missions the first being that of 22nd December 1943 to Osnabruck. He describes Mission No 4 as being a 'honey' the first time the main target was actually visible from the air. That of 30th January 1944 - his seventh-a difficult one. They lost an engine having to abort some 75 miles from target, hit heavy flak, one piece of which hit the bombardier's nose. By 11th February -his 11th - he is 'darn wore out' and yet again returned with the bomb load. They fly on three consecutive days later on in the month again 'really tires you out' and on 24th the squadron lost three aircraft to heavy flak and fighters. On mission number 19 of 6th March they hit Berlin as a secondary target 'swell fighter escort did a wonderful job'. The 8th March marked the 20th mission, an attack on a ball bearing plant near Berlin. On March 16th they came within twenty miles of Switzerland, the bomb bays jammed and they carried the full load back to the coast before dumping. On March 24th he writes 'Oh, happy day! The very last mission for now anyway. Twenty-six and I do mean I sweat it out'.



Morris married Dorothy Jean Olsen between tours; he had volunteered for a second and in February 1945 he was transferred to 384th BG flying B-17's. He was later, presumably randomly, selected - one of 53 - to fly back to the USA with General Eisenhower in President Truman's private C-54 for dinner at the White House and a place in the motorcade for the Victory celebrations in June 1945.

After the war Morris Smith settled down on the family farm.