Wilson Foch Smith was born on October 24, 1918 in Graceville, Florida. He resided in Jackson County, Florida prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on January 22, 1941, prior to the war, in Montgomery, Alabama. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Farm Hand and also as Single, without dependents. Wilson served as a Corporal, 654th Tank Destroyer Battalion, U.S. Army during World War II.

On May 23, 1945, he was a passenger on Flight C-46D (4-77507) which was taking 41 American soldiers that were ill, injured, or repatriated prisoners of war to hospitals in the Paris, France area and was then eventually going to take them all back to the United States. This flight occurred after Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. However this C-46, for unknown reasons, developed a fire in one of it's two engines and crashed near the village of Taillefontaine, near Paris. All men aboard were killed in the crash. CPL Smith died at the age of 26 and is now buried in the Epinal American Cemetery, Dinozé, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov