John B Smith

Pvt John Smith was killed in action on 06 June 1944, serving with Company B, 299th Engineer Combat Battalion. On 6 June 1944, the 299th Engineer Combat Battalion went ashore in Normandy in two separate landings. Company B came in at UTAH Beach, apart from the rest of the battalion, though the surviving accounts—drawn largely from the OMAHA landing—offer no further detail on what Company B specifically encountered or carried out there that day. The remainder of the battalion, including Companies A and C along with Headquarters & Service Company, landed at OMAHA Beach as part of the engineer effort to clear obstacles and open the way for the assault troops coming ashore behind them. Pvt Smith was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.