Robert Calvin Smith
PFC Robert C. Smith served with George Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 20 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 318336
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 22, 1923
at Ocoee, TN
Parents
(John) Oliver Smith
Crettie (Woods) Smith
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
July 31, 1941
at Nashville, TN
Home Of Record
Paper Mill Road
Knoxville, TN
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Oliver Smith
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
G/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Guadalcanal)
with Gold Star (Tarawa)
Additional Service Details
PFC Smith suffered shrapnel wounds to his face and left ear on Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Robert C. Smith served with George Company, 2nd Marines during the Guadalcanal and Tarawa campaigns.
On 20 November 1943, G/2/2 was designated to land as a support wave on Betio’s Beach Red 2, following Easy and Fox Companies of their battalion. Their LVTs began taking fire as they approached the beach – an experience described by George Company veteran Robert Twitchell:
Coming in along the pier we could hear the THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA of machine gun slugs hitting the armor plate, and every few seconds the KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA of a mortar shell exploding alongside. "My God, my God," I repeated over and over, "what the hell am I doing here?"
No one hesitated jumping or leaping over the side of the amtrac – it was the only way to exit as there were no doors. For a few long seconds you are a very visible target..... Lying on the already stained white coral sands and half floating in the lagoon were four of the men who I had just rode in with, slept with, prayed with and hoped with.... The horrible realization of what had happened struck me; the other five men in that amtrac must have been killed or wounded as they tried to climb up and over the side....
PFC Smith, who had already been wounded in the face during the battle for Guadalcanal earlier in the year, was one of the early casualties. He was marked for evacuation on 20 November – reportedly suffering from “war neurosis” – and, it was assumed, taken to a ship for further treatment and disposition.
Smith was duly noted as “wounded and evacuated,” and his family in Knoxville was notified. As weeks and then months passed without updates, an investigation into his whereabouts was launched. Many Tarawa casualties wound up in Navy Hospital #128 – Pearl Harbor. PFC William Hussey, a G/2/2 Marine wounded at Tarawa, told officials:
“Sgt. Alfred E. Coleman and PFC Robert C. Smith were admitted as patients to USN #128 at Pearl Harbor following their evacuation from the zone of active operations. They were confined to Ward C at this hospital. To the best of my knowledge [they] were transferred from this hospital during the first week of January 1944 to the US for further treatment.”
However, the hospital had no admittance record for Coleman or Smith. Nor did any of the vessels transporting wounded men from Betio.
Robert Smith was officially declared dead on 23 November 1944. To this day, the exact circumstances of his death are a mystery.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Oliver Smith.
The house number is not known.
Location Of Loss
PFC Smith was last seen awaiting evacuation from Betio.
