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| James Smith fought with the 30th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22436899/james-r-smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30th_Infantry_Division_(United_States) |
James R. Smith never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 17, 1919 in Michigan. His parents Rex and Lucile were also both born in Michigan. His father worked as an electrical laborer and later as a trucker. Still later he worked as a decorator. James had one older brother. By 1940 James had completed four years of high school and was also working as a decorator while living with his parents. One source says he was a pretty good baseball player and had hopes to play first base for the Detroit Tigers.
He was drafted into the army on March 3, 1944. He became a private first class in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Old Hickory"). The 30th ID landed on Omaha Beach on D+5. Throughout its participation in the march to Germany, it suffered more than 18,000 casualties (more than the size of a WW2 infantry division) so was in frequent need of replacements.
I don't know when PFC Smith joined his unit, but he was part of the Battle of the Bulge. The 30th ID stopped the 1st Panzer Division, a foe it had faced before, which had made the furthest penetration of all the Germans. After nearly a month on the defensive, on January 13, 1945 the 30th ID began a two week offensive that pushed the Germans back to St. Vith. PFC Smith was killed during this operation on January 21, 1945.
His grave is at Maple Grove Cemetery in Ovid, Michigan.
Last year on this date I profiled Lyle Peterson, USS Warrington, lost in the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane. You can read about Lyle 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
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