Albert Lewis “Smiley” Schlegel, Jr. was born on 20 August 1919, in, Cleveland, Ohio. He was the son of Albert Lewis Schlegel and Lillian S Honesberg Eaton. He joined the RAF, transferring to the US Army Air Corps in January 1943. He had the rank of Flight Officer. He was stationed at Debden and flew spitfires until they were replaced by P-47 Thunderbolts in March 1943. He was assigned to the 335th Fighter Squadron and was promoted to First Lieutenant.
His first victory occurred on 2 October 1943, an Me-109. In March 1944 the group switched to P-51 Mustangs and Schlegel became a Flight Leader. His activities picked up, and he began to have victories to the extent that he became an "Ace" on 22 April, and two days later he added two more 109s and shared a third. Now a Captain, he went on leave to the US. When he returned he became the 335th's Squadron Operations Officer, an office held for only ten days, ending with him being shot down by flak and killed on 28 August - his, was the last combat loss of the 4th Fighter Group. He had scored 13 1/2 confirmed and 2 1/2 probables.
On 28 August 1944, he took off from Station 356 in Debden, England, on a strafing mission to the Strasbourg sector in France. Around 09:00h, his aircraft (P-51 Mustang #44-14066 WD*O) was struck by flak during the strafing of a train at Vathimenil (another source says Valmy) station. His plane crashed in the village of Vathimenil - 13 km SE Lunéville.
On Nov. 18, 1944, a set of remains was found near a train station in Vathimenil (another source says Valmy). The remains were transferred to the American cemetery at Champigueul and designated as X-73. On Dec. 6, 1948, the American Graves Registration Command declared the remains unidentifiable.
In January 2016, researchers determined that through advanced forensic technology, the remains might be identified, and X-73 was disinterred and the remains were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory in Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains. Cpt Schlegel is now buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery, Beaufort, Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net 4thfightergroupassociation.org