James Paul Smith was the son of Bronce and Mary Overton. Service number: 34990165
He was killed in the sinking of SS Leopoldville and is memorialized at Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
On Christmas Eve 1944, the Belgium troopship Leopoldville, left the pier at Southampton, England with over 2,000 American soldiers assigned to the 66th Infantry Division and crossed the English Channel to France. Just 5 1/2 miles from its destination, Cherbourg, the Leopoldville was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-486. There were 763 American soldiers killed and the bodies of 493 were never recovered from the Channel’s frigid 48 degree waters.
- Rank: Private First Class
- Date of birth: 16 February 1926
- Date of death: 25 December 1944
- County: Loudon
- Hometown: Lenoir City
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 262nd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XV, Top Panel
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