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| Heber J. Smith was the copilot of the B-24 Gregory the Great https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62387936/heber-j_-smith/photo |
Heber J. Smith never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 23, 1918 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents Willard and Florence were also both born in Utah. Heber was the grandson of two different presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph F. Smith who died a month before Heber was born and Heber J. Grant who succeeded Smith and would remain president until his death in May 1945.
Heber's father worked as a cashier at Zions Bank, which happens to be the same bank I work for 100 years later. Heber had three older brothers, an older sister, two younger brothers, and one younger sister. He attended both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah when he was called to serve a mission for his church in France. His mission was cut short when France was invaded by Germany in 1940. He was transferred to complete his mission in Canada.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on January 13, 1942. He learned to fly B-24 Liberators and was designated a co-pilot. He became a second lieutenant in the 577th Bombardment Squadron, 392nd Bombardment Group which was sent to England in August 1943.
He was co-pilot on the B-24 Gregory The Great which was lost on its seventh mission - a November 26, 1943 mission to bomb Bremen, Germany. Smith's B-24 was having engine trouble and had difficulties keeping up with the rest of the formation. It fell behind and crashed at the month of the Elbe River in an unsuccessful belly landing. There were no survivors. The wreckage could be seen at low tide until it was removed. Post-war investigations could not determine whether the plane was shot down or crashed due to mechanical failure.
His grave is at Salt Lake City Cemetery in Utah.
This story can also be found at https://www.fold3.com/page/91164505-heber-j-smith/stories
Heber's cousin Lewis Smith was also killed in a plane crash while serving in World War 2. I wrote about him earlier this year.
Last year on this date I profiled Louis Miori who served with the 4th Infantry Division in Normandy. You can read about Louis here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Thank you for sharing these biographies of our fallen heroes. I feel thankful that I am able to read about them and be thankful for their sacrifices. I knew many veterans of this war, and a good number of B-24 and B-17 veterans among them. They have all passed away now and to their dying day, most of them wondered "How did I make it home?" God bless them all.
ReplyDeletejohnmcng@gmail.com December 23, 2018 at 8:49 AM
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these biographies of our fallen heroes. I feel thankful that I am able to read about them and be thankful for their sacrifices. I knew many veterans of this war, and a good number of B-24 and B-17 veterans among them. They have all passed away now and to their dying day, most of them wondered "How did I make it home?" God bless them all.