textsmithrobertbernard1937.html

North High School Wall of Honor
Robert Bernard Smith
Class of January, 1937
Died; December 7, 1944; Philippines

Research done by Rick Nehrling, class of 1963.

Robert Bernard Smith

Robert was a member of North High's January, 1937 class. He was a Lt. (jg) with the US Navy Reserve. His listed next of kin was his wife, Mrs. Anna Louise Smith, 1924 34th Street, Des Moines, Iowa. His listed next of kin was his wife, Mrs. Anna Louise Smith, 1924 34th Street, Des Moines, Iowa.

Information obtained from the American Battle Monuments Commission show that Robert died on Thursday, December 7, 1944. He is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

References

The above information was obtained from the following:
(1) The State Summary of War Casualties from World War II for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel was compiled in April, 1946 by the Casualty Section, Office of Public Information, Navy Department. It is considered to be the official list of the World War II dead for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. These records can be found online at http://www.archives.gov/.
All of the names and information in this document are arranged by State. Within this document, the Navy states the following: "Inclusions of names in this State group have been determined solely by the residence of next of kin at the time of notification of the last wartime casualty status. This listing does not necessarily represent State of birth, legal residence, or official State credit according to service enlistment."

The casualties listed in the document represent only those personnel on "active duty in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, resulting directly from enemy action or from operational activities against the enemy in war zones from December 7, 1941 to the end of the war." Any casualties in the United States area (training, other assignment to a permanent duty station in the US, etc.) or as a result of disease, homicide, or suicide, in any location, are not included.

(2)The American Battle Monuments Commission was established in 1923 to commemorate the service, achievements, and sacrifice of US Armed Forces. There are 24 overseas cemeteries that serve as the final resting places for almost 125,000 American war dead. The servicemen and women are either buried at these cemeteries or their names are listed on tablets of the missing that memorialize these men and women and their sacrifice. These records can be found online at http://www.abmc.gov/home.php.

(3) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of all North High School graduates can be found online at http://www.ndmhs.com/. Robert Bernard Smith's 1937 class page can be viewed at:
http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1937(1997.60).html.

Deceased: December 7, 1944; the Philippines

Music: "Anchors Aweigh" by the U.S. Navy Band