DOB/DOD: January 23, 1924 (Philadelphia, PA) – March 1, 1945; 21 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 1158 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford. The house is no longer there.
ENLISTMENT: January 14, 1943, in Springfield, Massachusetts
SERVICE NUMBER: 801968
UNIT: Company I, 3rd Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0745, Rifleman
FAMILY: Born to Charles E. Smith (1895-1940) [born in Canada] and Valerie M. Smith (1891-?). PFC Smith’s father was a Staff Sergeant in the Marines and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 1 One sister, Virginia Smith Giannini (1920-2003). PFC Smith worked at a defense housing project in Elmwood, Connecticut, before the service. 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, in early 1943. Parachute training at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina, followed. Assigned to the 5th Marine Division, 27th Marines, 3rd Battalion in April of 1944 through the Battle of Iwo Jima. 5 Private Smith was shot in the abdomen. He was evacuated to the USS Samaritan (AH-10), where he passed. 4
From the Connecticut Military Portrait Collection, Connecticut State Library, Identifier: PG570; used with permission
Extract from The Hartford Courant April 6, 1945
Son of Mrs. Valerie M. Smith and the late Charles E. Smith, 1158 New Britain Avenue, Elmwood section of Hartford, was killed March 1 on Iwo Jima, where he was serving with the Fifth Marine Division. The 21-year-old Marine attended William Hall High School and enlisted in January 1943. Following his basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, he was sent to New River, North Carolina, where he won his paratroopers wings in April 1943. He went overseas in July 1944. His father was a Staff Sergeant in the Marines in World War I. A memorial mass will be celebrated on April 10 at 9 a.m. at St. Bridget’s Church in Elmwood.
Initially buried in the Army, Navy & Marine Cemetery #2, on Guam, Marianas Islands, Row 16, Grave 19, Plot C. At his mother’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried on January 31, 1949, 4 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 2177 Puowaina Dr, Honolulu, Hawaii; Section B, Site 189. 4 Photo from Ancestry.com. 3
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238
3 – https://www.ancestry.com
4 – https://www.interment.net
5 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/