Smith Robert E.

Name:

Robert E. Smith

Rank:

Staff Sergeant

Serial Number:

32836564

Unit:

509th Bomber Squadron, 351st Bomb Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

1945-06-08

State:

New York

Cemetery:

Cambridge American Cemetery, United Kingdom

Plot:

D

Row:

4

Grave:

65

Decoration:

Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters

Comments:

Robert E. Smith was born in 1924 in New York. He was the son of William E. Smith, who resided in Pine City, New York.

Robert served in the 509th Bomber Squadron, 351st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Gunner on the B-17G #44-8639 during World War II. He was Killed in Action on June 8, 1945, when his airplane clipped the high ground on a ridgeside, then skidded along the mountainside of Craig Cwm Llwyd near Barmouth, Wales, and burst into flames. His B-17 was returning to the United States following the conclusion of hostilities in Europe. They were flying from Polebrook in Northamptonshire to the RAF Valley Airfield on Anglesey before the final leg back to the United States. All men aboard his plane were killed as a result of the crash.

SSgt Smith is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

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