Assigned to 388FS, 365FG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 110 combat missions over France and Germany.





Awards: SS, DFC (OLC), AM (18OLC), WWII Victory, EAME ( 4 Battle Stars), American Campaign Medal.



Obituary: "ZELL SMITH, JR. Zell Smith Jr., formerly of Monroe, died in Lake Worth, FL on November 21, 2009, at the age of 86. He was born on August 21, 1923, in Rison, AR. Zell was a graduate of Neville High School, attending Northeast LA Junior College where he learned to fly. He enlisted in the army air corp when WWII started and was trained as a pilot on P-47s. He was assigned to the 365th Fighter Squadron, known as the Hell Hawks, flying 110 combat missions over France and Germany before returning home. After the war, Zell earned a BS at LA Tech in mechanical engineering, followed by a MS at LSU in mechanical engineering and a MS in electrical engineering. He was briefly recalled to service in the Air Force in 1950 for the Korean War, stationed at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Later, after years in the chemical industry, he built and operated Zell's Ace Hardware in Gainesville, FL, moving to Lake Worth, FL in his last years to be near his daughter, Kathleen. Zell was an avid photographer his entire life, travelling around the world and leaving a legacy of his art in photographs for his family to treasure. Zell was preceded in death by his wife, Sybil Edwards Smith; his parents, Zell and Herndon Holmes Smith; and his sister, Marion Rivers. He is survived by his sister, Sarah Sole of Enid, OK; his sister-in-law, Beth McGough of Monroe; and his brother-in-law, Richard "Red" Rivers of Manzanita, OR; his children, Zell Smith III of Newberry, FL, Carol Payne of Monroe, Kathleen Holmes and husband Louie of Lake Worth, FL, and Sybil Anne Adams of Knoxville, TN; his grandchildren, Beth Avera of Baton Rouge, Ashley Burkett and Brian Bateman of Monroe; ten great-grandchildren, William, Caroline, Mary Frances and Thomas Avera; Katherine, Camille, Ella Scott, Marshall and Benjamin Burkett; and Oliver Bateman; nieces, Martha Stevenson of Monroe, Sheryl Gowen of Atlanta, GA, Mary Margaret Sole of Enid, OK, and Jill Carter of Manzanita, OR; nephew, Allen Sole of Dallas, TX. The family requests that memorials be made to the Chennault Aviation and Miltary Museum or to St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Monroe."