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U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, on Wednesday joined a Congressional Delegation to Normandy, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. While there, she laid flowers at the grave of the late Captain Malcolm A. Smith, a Birmingham native who gave his life defending our nation during World War II. Rep. Sewell honored Captain Smith on the House Floor on Tuesday.
Born in December 1917, Captain Smith was a native of Alabama. He attended Ramsey High School, where he was president of the student body and an outstanding athlete in the baseball and track teams.
He was a cadet at West Point and as WWII began, he expressed the desire to become a pilot. He entered flight training in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1942. He won his wings in December 1942 and graduated on January 19, 1943, as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
Captain Smith was married and, after arriving overseas, he was delighted to discover that his daughter, Susan Ann, was born on February 29, 1944.
He flew many combat missions and was awarded five Air Medals. His P-47 was nicknamed “Mary Ann” after his wife. His unit was one of the most heavily engaged air groups in isolating and softening the enemy defenses in Normandy just before D-Day. His unit suffered many casualties.
On May 21, 1944, Malcolm was killed in his P-47 while completing a ground mission near Vibraye, France.
Captain Smith’s family was deeply touched by the return of his West Point ring by a veteran Army GI in 1948. In September 1945, a French woman in Le Mans had entrusted Captain Smith’s ring to a GI. She had witnessed his aircraft being shot down and wanted to return his ring to his family.
Captain Malcolm A. Smith rests at the Normandy American Cemetery. He was 27 years old.
