PVT John Henry Smith

courtesy of Des Philippet

PVT John Henry Smith was born 12 Jul 1917 in Muncie, Indiana. He was the only child of Henry Clayborn and Gaynelle (Baldwin) Smith. This was his mother's 2nd marriage and she had a daughter by that marriage who had been adopted by John's maternal grandmother and her 2nd husband. In 1930, the family of 3 lived at 163½ Garfield Street in Youngstown, Ohio. Henry worked as a machinist in a steel mill and Gaynelle was working in the manufacture of artificial flowers. His half-sister died as a result of complications of childbirth in 1935 and their grandmother took in the infant boy. John's immediate family then moved to Scienceville, Ohio where they lived at 2848 Stacy Avenue. John was working at Youngstown Sheet &Tube Company in Youngstown. In 1943 he married Reba May Hayes.

John was drafted on 17 Feb 1944 and his daughter was born on 25 Feb 1944. John certainly had at least one furlough to visit his family before he was sent to the European theater in late September or early October 1944. PVT Smith was transferred from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry on 30 Oct 1944. The unit was just going into a period of consolidation and reorganization. On 17 Nov 1944 they started to move against German forces in Baesweiler, Germany and on 18 Nov 1944 PVT Smith was killed in action in Baesweiler.

PVT Smith was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery.