James H. Smart

Rang: Private

Overlijdensdatum: 10 October 1944

Legeronderdeel: 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

Laatste rustplaats: Californië, Verenigde Staten

Triangle of Tribute locatie: Groesbeek, Molenweg

James was born on March 16, 1919, in Springfield, Missouri, into a family of three children. At an early age, he moved with his family to California, where he entered military service on February 13, 1942. After earning his parachutist wings, James was assigned to Headquarters Company, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Shortly before his combat jump into Normandy, he learned that his younger brother Robert had been killed in action on May 28, 1944. On September 17, 1944, James landed near Groesbeek for his next combat operation, Operation Market Garden. On October 10, 1944, he was wounded near the observation tower on Molenweg and later died from his wounds. His parents soon received a telegram informing them that they had now lost their second son in the war. On November 11, 1944, the names of James and his brother were engraved on the memorial obelisk in Hawthorne, California. James was 25 years old.