John P. Smreck entered the military service in Ohio. He served in the 679th Bomber Squadron, 444th Bomber Group, Very Heavy as a Technical Sergeant and Radio Operator of an aircraft during World War II. Technical Sergeant Smreck was lost in the China Sea, September 8, 1944, on a mission to Anshan, China aboard the U.S. Army Air Corps B-29-1-MO Superfortress #42-6234. Three other crew were killed, but seven were rescued. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.
Technical Sergeant Smreck was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov