This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Ryan Mahana (Alcatraz)
to remember
Marine PFC Edward Oliver Smith.
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Contact Info
Last Address Kansas City Missouri
MIA Date Jun 04, 1942
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Midway Islands
Location of Memorial Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Birth and Early Life:
Edward Smith was born in Illinois around the year 1916. He was raised in Jackson County, Missouri by Oliver and Viola Smith.
Enlistment and Boot Camp:
Smith enlisted in Kansas City on September 19, 1940. He was sent to MCRD San Diego for boot camp, and after completing his training in November was sent to Scouting Squadron Two, where he trained as an aerial gunner.
Wartime Service:
Edward Smith was with his squadron renamed VMSB-241 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Marines were soon on their way to Hawaii, stopping over briefly before continuing on to the island of Midway, where they would become part of the island's aerial strike force. Smith, by now a qualified gunner, was paired with Second Lieutenant Harold Gilbert "Gil" Schlendering in a decrepit Vought SB2U Vindicator. The two received a newer Douglas Dauntless SBD-2 dive bomber and trained with the second section of the squadron's Second Division.
Date Of Loss:
Smith awoke before dawn on June 4, 1942, and set about preparing his weapons for another day of flying one which most of the Marines knew would end in desperate fighting. He was already in the gunner's seat of his Dauntless when Scheldering climbed into the cockpit and fired up the engine. They were soon airborne, following their flight leader on a course to intercept a Japanese strike force which had in turn launched its aircraft against the airfield at Midway. As they saw the carriers and began their attack, enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire shot one bomber after the other out of the sky. Somehow, Lieutenant Schlendering managed to guide the bomber through its attack run, and released his bomb at an altitude of only 500 feet. Schlendering pulled the Dauntless out of its dive at a perilously low altitude, weaving back and forth to try and throw the Japanese off his tail. The bomber managed to escape into some cloud cover; when they emerged, they were alone. Smith had been hit; how badly, Schlendering could not tell. With the Dauntless shot full of holes and its elevator controls destroyed, it seemed impossible that Schlendering would be able to coax it back to a friendly base. He managed to get within ten miles of Sand Island before the engine coughed and finally died. Schlendering tried a final time to raise a response from Smith, but the gunner was too far gone to hear if not already dead. The lieutenant bailed out and swam to a nearby reef, where he would be picked up by a PT boat. The bomber crashed into the sea, taking Edward Smith to his grave. PFC Smith was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in the battle.
Next Of Kin:
Parents, Oliver & Viola Smith
Status Of Remains:
Lost at sea.
Memorial:
Tablets of the Missing, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Other Comments:
Body Not Recovered
Distinguished Flying Cross
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Private First Class Edward Oliver Smith (MCSN: 296050), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Radioman-Gunner in Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron TWO HUNDRED FORTY-ONE (VMSB-241), during the Battle of Midway, 4 and 5 June 1945. In a determined attack against the invading Japanese Fleet, Corporal Webb, serving as rear-seat free machine-gunner, maintained fire in the face of overwhelming enemy fighter opposition and fierce anti-aircraft barrage. Because of circumstances attendant upon this engagement, there can be little doubt that he gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country. His courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Action Date: June 4 & 5, 1942
