NAME William Albert Smith aka William Ague	NICKNAME Bill	SERVICE NUMBER 266865
	UNIT Company B First Battalion 8th Marines	HOME OF RECORD Rural Route 1 North Vernon Indiana	NEXT OF KIN Friend, Mrs. Artemecia Howard Sister, Mrs. Christella Price
	DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1919	ENTERED SERVICE July 27, 1938	DATE OF LOSS November 18, 1942
	REGION Solomon Islands	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal	CASUALTY TYPE Killed in Action
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Sergeant William A. “Bill” Smith served as a weapons platoon NCO in Company B, 8th Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal.On 18 November 1942, B/1/8 crossed over the Matanikau River to patrol ahead of and provide security for an Army unit that would later lead the resumed offensive towards Kokumbona. The Marines encountered no resistance until they reached a point just east of Point Cruz. Hidden snipers killed Sergeant Smith and Corporal Doyle H. Asher in quick succession; the platoon suffered additional casualties while attempting to retrieve the bodies. Bill Smith was reportedly buried near where he fell. However, the official coordinates were entered incorrectly, making the exact site impossible to find. Subsequent fighting and base construction may have destroyed his actual grave site.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart	LAST KNOWN RANK Sergeant	STATUS OF REMAINS Buried in the field	MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery

Biography:
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I heard a couple of shots on my right flank and [one of my squad members] came to tell me that the sergeant – who was another Sergeant Smith, we had two of them in my company, my brother and another one – he said Sergeant Smith was just shot by a sniper, and that was our first contact with the Japanese….

He was definitely dead because the guy from my squad had his pistol. And I said, “You couldn’t even wait for the body to get [cold]?”

– Marshall P. Smith, B/1/8th Marines, interview with Jack Sigler on 18 March 2004

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