Charles B. Smith served in the 739th Bomber Squadron, 454th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B-24 #42-51132 during World War II.

On July 20, 1944, the U.S. Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24 #42-51132, which had departed from San Giovanni Airfield in southern Italy, was shot down by German anti-aircraft artillery (flak) while on a bombing mission over the Friedrichshafen area of southern Germany, part of the Allied strategic bombing campaign targeting German war-materiel industries. The intense flak fire inflicted critical damage on the bomber, forcing its eleven-member crew to bail out over Switzerland; the entire crew successfully parachuted to safety and survived, though at least one crewman sustained moderate injuries upon landing. Swiss authorities subsequently interned the crew members, while the unmanned bomber continued and crashed on this hillside known as Prestberg (Brastberg), where it was destroyed.

Currently, we don't have details about his post-war life, death, or burial location.

Source of information: https://aviation-safety.net, aad.archives.gov