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name
SMITH, Elmer J Jr - Date of
birth
16 June 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Moscow, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Moscow, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33348201 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
422nd Infantry Regiment,
106th Infantry Division
-
Awards
unknown
Death
-
Status
Died non-Battle - Date of
death
31 March 1945 - Place of
death
Duderstadt, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| K | 4 | 19 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Elmer J. Smith (father)
Myrtle M. Smith (mother)
Bobbie E. Smith (brother)
Harry P. Smith (brother)
Lois M. Smith (sister)
More information
T/Sgt Elmer J. Smith graduated from Moscow High School where he was the captain of the basketball team. He worked on the family farm.He enlisted in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on 8 July 1942 and trained at Camp Forest, Tennessee and Camp Atterbury, Indiana, from which he was sent overseas in August 1944
He was taken prisoner in the vicinity of Schlausenbach, Germany on 16 December 1944 and died in the POW camp Stalag IV-B in Mühlberg.
According to documents of the Polizei-Abteilung Duderstadt, dated 28 April 1949, Sgt. Giffey died in the community hospital of Duderstadt, Germany and was initially buried at the cemetery of this town. Taking into account the information in which camp he was held prisoner of war, it is not clear, based on the information currently available, how and when he would have ended up in this hospital. Further research on this is needed as soon as other documents can be found.
At the time of his death his brother Robert also served in Europe.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record / Prisoner of War Records, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / 1930 Census / Veteran Compensation Application File, www.newspapers.com - The Times Tribune - 5 April 1945 / 29 June 1945
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, www.newspapers.com - The Tribune - 30 June 1945 / 29 June 1945