Clarence Harwood “Smitty” Smith was born on February 6, 1901, in Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri. He was the son of Morris Smith and Nettie Smith. He was married to Ruth A. Cottrell Smith. He was a West Point graduate, Class of 1925. He served in the 45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, as a Lieutenant Colonel during World War II.

After the fall of the Philippines, LTC Smith was captured and held as a prisoner of war in the PW Camp #1 in Cabanatuan. On October 24, 1944, while being transported to Japan aboard the Japanese hell ship Arisan Maru, he perished when the vessel was sunk in the South China Sea, resulting in one of the deadliest maritime losses in American history.

LTC Smith’s name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA.

Source of information: uk.forceswarrecords.com, findagrave