US Army Sergeant George C. Smith was born in Milton, Florida on June 10, 1920, the son of Stephen Smith (1854-1925) and Susan E. Gilman (1868-1958). His father was originally from the small farming community of Leonia in Holmes County, Florida. It is located north of Ponce de Leon and south of the Alabama state line. His mother's family was from the small community of Miller also in Holmes County. Her father was Ambrose Ira Gilman (1839-1908) who married her mother Amanda Ellis (1841-1937) in 1863. Ambrose had enlisted in the Confederate Army in Company "G" of the 33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment. Stephen and Susan's parents were all farmers by trade as Stephen and Susan married in 1887. Their first few years of marriage was spent in Leonia where Stephen continued to farm just like his parents before him.
By 1910, the family had relocated to the community of Red Rock in Santa Rosa County, Florida with seven children now around the supper table. Ten years later the family was still in Santa Rosa County but now in the community of Harold. But farming in those days was hard work and it took a toll on those that lived by it. As such, Stephen passed away on December 4, 1925 and was buried in the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Harold, Santa Rosa County.
Prior to 1930, Susan had moved her family to another small community in the county called Dogwood Grove. There, she rented a house for $10.00 per month for herself and her ten children that ranged from ages 45 down to 15. Three of her sons were working at the turpentine mill with one a dipper, another a stiller, and the third a chipper. Another son was farming and a fifth one was an oiler at the sawmill. By 1940, most of her children had left home leaving her with her son Howard and her grandson Clarence on Ferris Hill Street. There, she was renting a house for $3.00 per month while Howard contributed by cutting telephone poles while his son Clarence was with the Bagdad Lumber Company.
Susan's son George would enlist in the US Army on February 9, 1941 ten months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually, he was assigned to the 467th Ordnance Evacuation Company and was shipped overseas to England. Up until October 31, 1944, he was stationed in Caistor in Lincolnshire. His unit was responsible for transporting heavy equipment such as tanks to wherever they needed to be. However, their main task was to recover damaged or broken down tanks and such and transport them to a designated repair area. So, at some point in 1944 he was transferred to Nice, France. Exactly when and why he was there is not known but we do know that he was killed or died there on December 7, 1944.
His death is listed as "DNB" or "Death Non-Battle," which can be anything from an accident to disease as long as the death did not occur in combat. Many of our soldiers were killed during and after the war from automobile accidents in jeeps and these were all counted as DNB. Regardless, he died serving his country in her time of need and was buried in a military cemetery overseas. Per request of his mother, his remains were brought home aboard the Army transport "SS Lawrence Victory" and buried with full military honors in the Milton Cemetery in September 1948.
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