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Submit- Full
name
SMITH, Graham Hollis - Date of
birth
19 October 1910 -
Age
32 - Place of
birth
Libertyville, Lake County, Illinois -
Hometown
Lucas County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35326756 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator -
Unit
336th Bombardment Squadron,
95th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
26 July 1943 - Place of
death
Dörrieloh, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 17 | 18 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Clarence Smith (father)
Lillian Smith (mother)
Lillian Smith (sister)
Marjorie (Van Auken) Smith (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-5893 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Sad Sack
Destination: Hannover, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Limmer rubber factory
MACR: 197
More information
T/Sgt Graham H. Smith attended collegeand was an advertising agent.He enlisted in Toledo, Ohio on 23 April 1942.
A/C 42-5893 was hit by flak. All crew members were able to bail out before the A/C crashed at Dorrieloh, 12 miles east of Diepholtz, Germany. When T/Sgt Smith started to bail out of the ship, his foot slipped. This threw his shoulders out the door into the slip-stream and he was blown into the side of the door, causing fatal internal injuries. He was initially buried at the municipal cemetery of Diepholz on 27 July 1943.
The other nine crew members were taken prisoner. The engineer, Charles Cothran, was held in Stalag Luft III and was killed by the SS during a march from the POW camp. The Army recovered his body from a mass grave in Stein, Austria, and officially established that his death came during a march from one prison camp to another on 1 June 1945.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Luc van der Sterren, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.8thafhs.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: www.95thbg.org, Peter Schouteten