Charles Edward Smith was born July 1905 to David Edward and Carrie Estelle York Smith. He died Feb. 8, 1942 and is buried in Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.
Chief Petty Officer Smith served with the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was KIA on a P.T. boat while trying to re-supply American and Filipino troops trapped by the enemy on Corregidor Island and the Bataan Peninsula.
He was married to Florence Ebersole Smith Finch who served with the U.S. Coast Guard. Mrs. Smith worked with the Philippine Underground against the Japanese occupation forces. She was caught and imprisoned by the Japanese, interrogated, beaten and tortured, but never revealed information regarding her underground operations or fellow resisters. After her liberation, in July 1945, she enlisted in the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve “to avenge the death of my husband.” She was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon, the first woman to be so decorated. She was also awarded Medal of Freedom in Nov. 1947. Her legacy lives on after having a multi-million dollar Coast Guard facility in Honolulu, Hawaii named in her honor.
Photo from U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office |
Florence Ebersole Smith Finch was born Oct. 11, 1915 in the Philippines and died Dec. 8, 2016 in Ithaca, NY. She was buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Ithaca, NY with full military honors. After the war she married U.S. Army veteran Robert Thornton Finch.
Source: ancestry.com;
abmc.gov;
www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Notable-People/All/Article/1854611/florence-ebersole-smith-finch-uscgr/
