SMITH, 2nd Lt. Donald L. "Don", WWII

SMITH, SETTERBERG, PUTH, HANSON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 5/11/2013 at 14:34:34

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Friday, January 29, 1943, Page 8

Here in Mason City

Donald L. SMITH, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. SMITH, 902 President avenue northwest, left early Friday morning to join the army air forces at Nashville, Tenn.

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The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Tuesday, August 24, 1943, Page 2

54 Letters Given to Iowan Reaching Iran

Sgt. Donald L. SMITH got his mail in a bunch. Last spring he shipped for a destination unknown and received no mail enroute. When he arrived in Iran recently and applied for his mail, 54 letters were waiting for him.

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The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
October 26, 1945, Page 7

Memorial for Smith on Sunday

Memorial services fo Lt. Donald L. SMITH will be held at the Immanuel Lutheran church Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock, with the Rev. Ernest A. BERGESON, pastor of the church, in charge.

Lt. SMITH, pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress, was reported missing June 11, 1944, over the English channel. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. SMITH, 902 President S. W., were officially notified of his death a year later.

He enlisted in the army air corps July 1, 1942, and was called to active service Jan. 29, 1943, receiving his commission and wings at Moody field, Ga., Nov. 3, 1943. He left for the ETO [European Theater of Operations] in March, 1944.

Lt. SMITH had received the air medal and the ETO ribbon with 2 bronze battle stars. His crew had received a citation from the general of the 8th air force, for the bombing of railway installations at Metz, Germany. A posthumous award of 5 oak leaf clusters to the air medal and the purple heart was presented to his parents.

Lt. SMITH was born Oct. 22, 1920, in Mason City and was a graduate of the public high school and junior college. At the time of his enlistment he was employed at the International Harvester company. Besides his parents he is survived by a grandmother, Mrs. A. G. SMITH and numerous other relatives.

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The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
October 29, 1945, Page 16

MEMORIAL HELD FOR DON SMITH

Bergeson Gives Sermon in Immanuel Church

"May Christ make the difference for you between thinking of Don's life as 'swallowed up' in war victory and his death being 'swallowed up' in Christ's victory," said the Rev. Ernest BERGESON, addressing relatives and friends gathered at teh Immanuel Lutheran church for memorial services in honor of Lt. Donald L. SMITH Sunday afternoon.

Miss Glendora SETTERBERG, a close fiend of Donald SMITH, was the organist for the services. Stephen HOBSON offered 2 musical numbers: "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked" by O'Hare and "The Lord's Prayer" by Malott. He was accompanied by Miss Helen JOHNSON.

Ushers for the service were friends of Don in the army air forces, Lt. Leslie STOCK and Pvt. Jack NUTTING.

"Because of that victory which Christ won on Calvary and in His resurrection, you who this day mourn Don's passing, can be assured that you will meet him on the other side for death is swallowed up in victory and not his life," concluded the pastor.

Friends and relatives of Lt. SMITH have started a memorial fund which will be used to purchase altar vases and communion candle sticks to fill out the set matching the gold cross on the altar, these being placed there in memory of Donald SMITH.

Relatives attending the service were: Mr. and Mrs. A. L. SMITH, his father and mother; Mrs. A. G. SMITH, his grandmother; Glen SMITH of Cedar Rapids; Miss Grace SMITH of Mason City; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph PUTH and daughter Joanne of Mason City; Mr. and Mrs. Ed D. HANSON of Minneapolis, Minn.; Mr. and Mrs. Willian HANSON of Albert Lea, Minn.; Mr. and Mrs. Ervin HANSON and Edre HANSON, all of Mason City.

Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2013

Cerro Gordo Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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