Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
SMITH, Roland Gordon Leonard - Date of
birth
21 August 1917 -
Age
27 - Place of
birth
London, England -
Hometown
Palm Beach County, Florida
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
32906237 -
Rank
Corporal -
Function
unknown -
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
325th Glider Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
25 October 1944 - Place of
death
Groesbeek, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 31 | 58 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Gladys M. L. Smith (mother)
More information
Cpl Roland G. L. Smith emigrated to the United States, sailing with the SS American Banker on 4 November 1939, arriving in New York City, New York.He worked as a stenographer and typist.
He enlisted in New York City, New York on 12 May 1943. At the time he applied for naturalization, Cpl Smith was serving with the 11th Tank Battalion at Camp Wheeler in Georgia.
His remains were found wrapped in a parachute in a field grave on the pasture "Buitenbosch" near Groesbeek, the Netherlands in March 1959. The remains were brought to Frankfurt, Germany and registered as Unknown X-9313. After identification, his remains were buried at American Military Cemetery of Ardennes, Belgium, in August 1959. He is also remembered at the Walls of the Missing at the American Military Cemetery and Memorial of Margraten.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII-Enlistment Record, www.ww2-airborne.us, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census / Headstone and Interment Record / Naturalization Record, Individual Deceased Personnel File
Photo source: Jac Engels