William Albert Smith
Sergeant William A. “Bill” Smith served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on 18 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 266865
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This information has not been publicized by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 15, 1919
in Leechburg, PA
Parents
Mazie Rebecca Smith
later Mrs. Mazie Ague
Father’s name unknown
Education
North Vernon High School (to 1935)
Occupation & Employer
Farm hand
Service Life
Entered Service
July 27, 1938
at Denver, CO
Home Of Record
North Vernon, IN
Next Of Kin
Friend, Mrs. Artemicia Howard
alternately:
Sister, Mrs. Christella Price
Mother, Mrs. Mazie Ague
Military Specialty
Machine gun section leader
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
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, the 8th Marines were assigned the task of supporting an advance by the 182nd (Army) Infantry on Guadalcanal. Their route would lead them west down “Government Track” – a beach road running along the island’s northern coast – from the Matanikau River to Point Cruz. A patrol from B/1/8 led the way, with a group of machine gunners – including Sergeant Smith and Corporal Doyle H. Asher – attached for extra firepower.
PFC Marshall P. Smith, known as “Little Smitty,” was one of the riflemen on the patrol; his older brother, Sergeant John W. Smith, was also with B/1/8. They were not related to Bill Smith, but there was obvious confusion whenever someone called for “Sergeant Smith.”
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]?"
Burial Information or Disposition
After the war, search parties from the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company attempted to locate the burial sites of Corporal Asher and Sergeant Smith. Unfortunately, the coordinates in their files were wrong – showing the graves out at sea – and the Point Cruz area had long since been bulldozed into a military base, obliterating any trace of the graves.
Today, Sergeant Smith’s body likely lies under the city of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.
Memorials
Read Sergeant Smith's full story in the book Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal.
Next Of Kin Address
Bill Smith lived on a chicken farm owned by Mrs. Artemicia Smith for six years before enlisting, and listed her as his emergency contact.
His sister, “Stella” Price, was named his beneficiary; she lived in Rising Sun, Indiana.
His mother and stepfather lived in Knightstown, Indiana.
Location Of Loss
Sergeant Smith was killed in action near the base of Point Cruz, Guadalcanal.
