In Memory Of1LT Ernest D. Smith Jr.

1LT Ernest D. Smith Jr., 73, U.S. Army Air Corps, born in Connecticut April 13, 1922, passed away on March 27, 1996. Smith was a B-29 Radio Observer with 39th Bomb Group (VH) in the Pacific Theater of WWII. After a successful bombing mission, his aircraft was impacted by Japanese flack, knocked upside down, and plummeted toward the Earth. Due to Smith and four other crewmembers' swift actions, the B-29 was able to pull out of its dive just 900 feet from the ground. For his service, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. Fly high, Hero! Til Valhalla, Brother!