Dewey Allen Smith, Sr.

2019-11-26T12:24:49-06:00
Army Badge
  • Name: Dewey Allen Smith Sr.
  • Location of Birth: Proctor, Minnesota
  • Date of Birth: June 4, 1916
  • Date of Death: October 27, 2005
  • Parents: Dewey Lee Smith & Lillian (Allen) Smith
  • High School and Class: 1934 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
  • College: Itasca Junior College, Coleraine, Minnesota
  • Highest Rank: PFC (Private First Class)
  • Branch: Army
  • Other Branch:
  • Date Sworn In: May 14, 1945
  • Place Sworn In: Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Date of Discharge: December 7, 1945
  • Place of Discharge:
  • Military Awards:

  • Military Highlights:
    WW II Draft Registration Cards – 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947
    State: Minnesota
    Name: Dewey Allen Smith
    Race: White
    Age: 24
    Birth Date: June 4, 1916
    Birth Place: Proctor, Minnesota, USA
    Residence Place: Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota, USA
    Registration Date: October 16, 1940
    Employer: U.S. Postal Employee, Bovey Post Office, Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota
    Weight: 160
    Height: 5-10
    Complexion: Light
    Eye Color: Blue
    Hair Color: Brown
    Next of Kin: Elizabeth Jane Smith, wife, Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota

    WW II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
    Name: Dewey A. Smith
    Birth Year: 1916
    Race: White
    Nativity State or Country: Minnesota
    State of Residence: Minnesota
    County or City: Itasca
    Enlistment Date: May 14, 1945
    Enlistment State: Minnesota
    Enlistment City: Fort Snelling
    Branch: No branch assignment
    Branch Code: No branch assignment
    Grade: Private
    Grade Code: Private
    Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
    Component: Selectees (Enlisted men)
    Source: Civil Life
    Education: 1 year of college
    Civil Occupation: Semiskilled chauffeurs and drivers, bus, taxis, truck and tractor
    Marital status: Married
    Height: 88
    Weight: 989

    Dewey Smith spent only 7 months in the Army until his discharge after World War II was over.

  • Wars Involved:
    World War II

  • MIA / POW:

  • Civilian Life:
    Dewey Smith served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934 and 1935. He married Elizabeth Litchke in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 1937. He worked many years operating heavy equipment on road construction jobs, including the Alcan Highway in Alaska and Canada. He fired locomotives for the Duluth, Mesabi and Iron Range Railroad. He received his operating engineer's license and worked at the nuclear power plant at Hastings until his retirement. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and summer-long trips to Alaska. He was a life member of the Bovey Moose and was a 49er with the Operating Engineers Local 49.

    Dewey Smith died in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and is buried in Itasca Calvary Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Minnesota (plot C-D-31-07). He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elizabeth "Beady"; two daughters, Janice (Ronald) Farrell and Kathleen (Larry) Walstad; one son, Dewey A. Smith, Jr.; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; his grandparents, Louis & Nellie Smith and Octave & Mary Allen; his sister, Helen Thompson; his brother, Henry Smith; granddaughter, Kimberly Smith Tollett; and a great-grandson, Hunter Kadlec.

  • Tribal Affiliation(s):

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