Remains of Missouri soldier killed on D-Day identified

WASHINGTON – The remains of a central Missouri soldier killed during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, have been identified and will be returned home for burial.

U.S. Private William A. Smith of Syracuse, Missouri, was assigned to Company C, 149th Engineer Battalion in the European Theater of War in June 1944. On June 6, Smith, along with 200 soldiers and 25 crew members, was aboard Landing Craft Infantry 92 (LCI-92) en route to Omaha Beach, Normandy as part of the largest naval invasion in history.

As LCI-92 approached the coast, the ship struck a submersible, bursting into flames. The ship was also hit by enemy artillery fire, which ignited the ship’s fuel stores in the forward compartment. The explosion killed everyone on board LCI-92.

The situation made rescue or recovery operations impossible. Around June 10, days after the Allies had successfully established a foothold in France, members of the 500th Medical Collecting Company examined the wreckage of LCI-92 and discovered burned remains in the troop compartment where Smith and other soldiers were believed to have been stationed. The American Graves Registration Command recovered the remains of LCI-92 and buried them at the St. Laurent-sur-Mer U.S. Military Cemetery.

In 1946, the AGRC examined the remains and divided them into four unknown groups (X-53, X-83, X-83B and X-83C). Unfortunately, the remains could not be identified at that time and were buried in the Normandy American Cemetery.

In June and August 2021, the Department of Defense exhumed the commingled remains of the four unknown individuals and transported them to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory for reanalysis.

Scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis to identify the remains. The process requires familial DNA from the family member most closely related to the missing soldier, which will be used as the primary source for identifying the remains.

DPAA was able to successfully identify and document Smith on August 21, 2023. The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch of the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, recently notified Smith’s family and provided information on the records of historical, forensic and DNA reports, accomplishments, and the mortuary process, including burial with full military honors.

The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a critical role in locating family members of missing soldiers from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Smith will be buried in St. Louis on November 11.

Smith’s name is now recorded alongside the names of other missing people from World War II at the Normandy Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in France. A rosette will be placed next to Smith’s name to indicate that he has been found.