Steward Mate 2nd Class (StM2c) Walter Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 January 1927 or 1928. Walter may have been as young as fifteen when he found a way to enlist in the US Navy on 17 June 1943. Within a year, this young boy would be dead.

Walter Smith grew up in Philadelphia. While family facts are shrouded in the fog of time, it is clear that his family migrated north from South Carolina. Documents related to Walter's service clearly indicate his mother's name was Josephine. Walter and his mother Josephine are, at the time of the 1930 census, found living with his uncle Charles Smith, who was a laborer in a grocery, and his aunt Louise. Walter is listed as the 2 year old son of Charles and his mother Josie (Josephine) is listed as the single, 41 year old sister of the head-of-household. She works in a laundry as a presser. In that period, it was not unusual for a family to be reluctant to disclose an illegitimate child. In the 1940 census, mother Josephine is no longer in Charles's house and she is not found again until 1950.

Walter voluntarily enlisted on 17 June 1943 at the Philadelphia Naval Base (i.e. Navy Yard). Patriotism, and sometimes need, drove underage boys to find ways to enlist in the military during the war. Smith's motivations for enlisting are not known, nor, how he circumvented the age restrictions. A month after enlisting, on 16 July 1943, Steward Mate Third Class (StM3c) reported to his first ship the destroyer USS Doyle (DD-494), moored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The Doyle was a recent built Gleaves-class Destroyer. She had made her way from the the yard at Bremerton, Washington to New York arriving on 26 April 1943. Starting on 13 May 1943, she made four voyages as a convoy escort. Smith arrived in mid-July. On 1 September 1943 Smith was promoted to StM2c. The fourth and final convoy escort of this period was completed on 29 November 1943, but on 26 October 1943, Smith and another sailor were transferred off the ship to R/S (Receiving Station) New York for disciplinary action. They were reported Absent Over Leave (AOL) at 8:30 am on 25 October. The ship was moored at the Navy Yard Annex at Bayonne, New Jersey at the time. The Doyle was heading to Gravesend Bay to load ammo and Smith and another sailor apparently missed the departure time. Being AOL was not typically considered a serious infraction, and my guess is that that the Doyle was heading out for its final convoy escort and could not wait for any overdue sailors.

The end result is that Smith was transferred off the Doyle, and from November 1944 to May 1945 Smith's whereabouts are uncertain, but we see that he keeps his rank and that he is in Boston at the time that he is given his next sea assignment.

StM2c Smith arrived 9 May 1945 at DD-228, the John D. Ford, from Boston, Massachusetts about 11 months after enlisting. The Ford was a Clemson-class, WW1 4-stack destroyer commissioned in 1920. The Ford had been a lucky ship. It was in the war from the very beginning and amazingly survived the dark early days in the Pacific when the under-strength and over-aged fleet, lacking air support, valiantly tried to stop the Japanese southward advance into the oil rich areas of south-east Asia. The Ford sunk her first enemy ship on 24 January 1942 and earned the Presidential Unit Citation for her actions at the Battle of the Java Sea at the end of February 1942. She escaped to Australia after Java and then the old girl slowly headed east. After continuing in convoy service in the eastern Pacific, she transited the Panama Canal and commenced anti-submarine warfare/convoy escort duties in the Atlantic in June 1943. In late March 1944, the Ford collided with a British tanker at Gibraltar and returned to Norfolk, Virginia for repair. StM2c Smith reported to the Ford on 9 May 1944 while the ship was in for the repairs. On 24 May, the Ford departed Norfolk to the Canal Zone for convoy duty. On Wednesday 31 May 1944, just two days after Memorial Day, the Ford arrived at Cristobal, Colon, Panama at the eastern end of the Panama Canal at 10:45 am and moored alongside the USS Whipple. At 11:10 PM a man overboard was reported. Young StM2c Walter Smith had gone overboard into 50ft of water and could not be saved. His body was recovered and Smith was originally buried in Panama, but the remains were later moved to the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and today he lies in section 2, grave #395 in the cemetery on the grounds of the Gettysburg Battlefield National Park.

While StM2c Smith may have served in a segregated navy, in death, he is segregated no more. Four score of years after our Civil War, this country made the right decision, and today StM2c Smith lies in the same hallowed ground as his earlier brothers-in-arms. This year, 2021, Memorial Day will fall on the 77th anniversary of the death of StM2c Walter Smith. Take time to reflect on, and honor, the name of a young man who died too soon.

StM2c Smith, We Have the Watch.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

SM2c Walter Smith, USS John D. Ford