Identified V-Mail
V-Mail identified to Roland E. Smith - Hq. Btry. 324th F.A. Bn. and Hq, 83rd Divisional Artillery
Original censored WWII Army V-Mail's all from 1945 and send from Lieutenant Roland E. Smith, Headquarters, 83rd Division Artillery to Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Ginter, North East Knott Avenue, Portland 12, Oregon. Roland E. Smith signature in censor's field at upper left. The dates the V-mail's where was 1945, from APO #83 which was somwhere in Germany on this dates.
Note: Put into practice in June 1942, V-mail became the most popular way for the troops to correspond across the ocean. As a way to limit bulk mail, V-mail blanks were submitted, photographed, then condensed and sent in special envelopes.
Lt. Roland E. Smith
Lieutenant
Roland E. Smith
Lieutenant Roland E. Smith
Roland Earl Smith was born on November 22, 1920, in Santa Clara, California, to Ednah Martha Powers (1887-1937) and Albert John Smith (1872-1933). Roland was the youngest of for children.
Roland E. Smith enlisted (#39393751) on August 11, 1942 in Sacramento, California. He served as a Lieutenant (O-1180343) with both the 324th Field Artillery Battalion and the Divisional Artillery Headquarters of the 83rd Infantry Division. He was proud of his service but, as many veterans, had a very hard time speaking about it. Roland E. Smith was awarded with two Bronze Star Medals for valor in combat. For some of the time he was an aid to a general. Since he was with Headquarters of the Divisional artillery I’m thinking this might mean he was an aide to Brigadier General Montague, the 83rd Division Artillery Commanding Officer.
After the war Roland Smith married Eleanor M. Messinger in 1947 at Mt. Hermon, California and they had three children. He went into the reserves and was called up for the Korean conflict. By that time he had graduated from college and three years of seminary and so went back to Korea and served as an Army protestant chaplain. His youngest son Douglas K. Smith was born shortly after his return from Korea. He was told that he was not expected, Roland and Eleanor were actually in the process of adopting a Korean girl because their first two children were boys which resulted in Doug having a pink baby book!
Roland E. Smith died from a heart attack, on December 26, 1975 in Concord, California at the young age of 55.
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