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name
SMILEY, George Arley - Date of
birth
20 November 1917 -
Age
26 -
Place of birth
Milton-Freewater, Umatilla County, Oregon -
Hometown
Umatilla, Umatilla County, Oregon
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-680321 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
413th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
25 February 1944 - Place of
death
Sulzbach an der Murr, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| F | 8 | 16 |
Immediate family
-
Members
George E. Smiley (father)
Hulda S. (Sundquist) Smiley (mother)
Eloise M. Smiley (sister)
Harold W. Smiley (brother)
Eleanor A. Smiley (sister)
Dorothy J. Smiley (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-38043 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Regensburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the ball bearing plant
MACR: 2861
More information
1st Lt George A. Smiley volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Seattle, Washington on 15 January 1942.The aircraft was attacked German fighter planes.
German guards told surviving crew members that they found the bodies of two men, Smiley and Fath, on a hill site. It looked like their parachutes had not opened.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / WWII Draft Cards Young Men / Fenske Family Tree, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.findagrave.com – Albert Ledoux
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Denise Kellam, www.wwiimemorial.com – Eleanor Blanchette (sister)