Cecil James Smith was born in Eden Township, Sac County, Iowa (just west of Nemaha, Iowa) on December 5, 1919. He was the oldest of eight children of Henry A. Smith (25 Dec 1894 – 18 Apr 1989) and Hannah Marie (Brady) Smith (called Marie) (15 Feb 1899 – 12 Jul 1985), who were born in Iowa. His father was a farmer. His home of record was Nemaha, Sac County, Iowa.
He registered for the draft at Sac City, Sac County, Iowa on July 1, 1941. He was 6 feet tall, weighed 170 pounds, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He enlisted by 1943 and completed Army Air Forces bombardier training in Class 43-14 at Midland Army Air Field, Texas. He received his wings and commission at Midland, Texas on October 7, 1943.
He was assigned as bombardier on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Robert G. Reeder in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. The Reeder crew completed B-24 crew training with the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. Reeder's copilot, 2/Lt Floyd Schwab, was moved to the first pilot position, and 2/Lt Norman C. Van Kirk was assigned as the crew's copilot at Herington, Kansas, the first stop during the overseas deployment. They flew B-24H 42-52624 overseas via the southern Atlantic ferry route and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
On June 7, 1944, Lt Schwab's crew flew B-24H 42-52624 'BoxCar' on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a tactical target at Angers, France, in support of the Normandy Invasion. Clouds obscured the target and the Lead Squadron bombed an alternate target, the Loire River bridge at Montjean, France, about 20 miles west of Angers. The Schwab crew flew in the High Squadron and bombed a railroad marshalling yard at Chateaubriant, France, about 50 miles northwest of Angers. Lt Smith and six of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was shot down by flak near Rennes, France on the return from the mission. The aircraft broke up and crashed at La Rabine, just west of Bruz, France. Three men survived and became prisoners of war.
The dead were buried at the civilian cemetery in Bruz, France. After the war Lt Smith's remains were reinterred at Brittany American Cemetery in Saint-James, France.
The Breton Air Memorial Association and the Lacy-Davis Foundation dedicated a monument to the Floyd Schwab crew on June 9, 2012 in Bruz, France.
B-24H 42-52624 crew:
• Schwab, Floyd – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Van Kirk, Norman C – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Swiridow, Louis – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Smith, Cecil J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Olsen, August M Jr – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Gross, Billy D – T/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• Marxmiller, Robert K – S/Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Siegel, Melvin – S/Sgt – Tail Turret – POW
• Coe, Seymour – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Walker, Clarence E – S/Sgt – Upper Turret – KIA
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov