The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1945-01-25
Kitzmiller Flyer
Sacrificed Life to
Save French Village
Details Which Caused Death of
1t. Carroll n. Smith, Kitz-
miller, Written by Chaplain

Mrs. Frances Smith, of Kitzmiller,
has received letter from an army
chaplain in France which gave details
of the death of her son, 1t. Carroll
n. Smith. who was with the 315th
fighter squadron, army air force, and
who was killed in action on December
8.
Portions of the letter follow:
81 know you are patiently waiting
to hear the details but before | des-
clibe them | want you to believe me
sincere when | say there was not a
better boy in any group than your
son, Carroll. He was without doubt
a credit to his country. his God, and
the home in which he was reared.
We realize only too we'll your loss be-
cause we knew Carroll. His manly
attitude, his youthful appearance, and
his cheerful personality endeared him
to all. In the following paragraph
you are going to read story that
will be a comfort to you all your life,
Carroll went out on a mission. On
the way to the target his plane, with
bombs attached, went into a spin.
What caused the plane to spin we
do not know. The other pilots reported
the incident and we set out immedi-
ately to the indicated spot. We found
the crashed plane and when we in
quired about the pilot we were di-
rected to the City Hall of a little
French town located nearby. At the
City Hall we beheld scene that |
shall never forget Carroll was "lying
in State" on a flower banked bier
Four French officials were standing
as guard of Honor. The place was
crowded and on every face was a look
of sympathy, admiration and graft
tude We asked for some information
regarding the crash, and from here
on | will let the French civilians who
were eyewitnesses tell the story. 1--WE
saw the plane come out of the clouds.
1t was in a spin but the pilot pulled
it out. 1t was very low and was COM
ing straight for our little town. In
that short space of time we foresaw
with terror many Of our homes des-
troyed and many of our loved ones
killed. We knew that the pilot could
do either of two things-he could bail
out and save his own life, but the
plane would crash on our homes. or
he could stay with the plane and di-
rect it away from our town, but would
probably have to give his own life in
exchange. The pilot chose the latter;
he remained in the plane, piloted it
away to the left, and then bailed out,
but it was too late. Although his para
chute opened, he was too low down.
He fell within fifteen feet of the
crashing plane and the conclusion
from the exploding bombs was the
means which God used to call him to
his reward. We Immediately removed
his body, which was hardly even
bruised, to the City Hall. Although
it was not much, still it was the high
est honor that VIC could possibly pay
him. In this town he will always be
remembered as the American Pilot
who gave his life so that we may
live"
Mrs. Smith, in the previous para
graph | have tried to give you word
for word description as told to US by
the French civilians, but words could
not possibly express the feeling Of
gratitude and love that shone in their
eyes. When all others are forgotten
your son will always be remembered
in the hearts of every man, woman
and child in that little town of France.
The letter was written by Capt.
Richard W. Power, a chaplain with
the fighter group. He told Mrs. Smith
that her son was laid to rest in a
beautiful u. S. Military cemetery in
France.
Y