To: KYF Subject: Smiley.William.W.KIA.1944.Casey.NEWS Navy Declares William W. "bill" Smiley As Dead December 1944 Casey County KyArchives News THE CASEY COUNTY NEWS,1944 Mrs. Elisa Carman, this city, was notified by the secretary of the Navy the early part of the week that all hope had been abandoned for her nephew, William W. "Bill" Smiley a member of the crew of the U.S.S. Langley which was torpedoed and sunk by the Japs in South Pacific waters on February 28,1942. Many survivors of this ship including young Smiley were rescued a few hours after their ship sunk, by the U.S.S. Pecos, which was torpedoed and sunk on March 2nd. It is known that young Smiley was uninjured from the sinking of both ships as he was seen several hours after the sinking of the last ship and was aboard a raft with other survivors. How he met his death will forever remain a mystery. Surviving members of the crew of the Langley have contacted Mrs. Carman since their return home and inquired about her nephew. One of them, a Texas sailor, was a buddy of "Bill". Not long ago he wrote Mrs. Carman giving a detailed account of the sinking of both ships. He related that he saw Bill several hours after their last ship was sunk and he was uninjured. He did not know but that he too had been rescued. "Bill" as he was familiarly known, was 23 years of age and entered the service in the fall of 1939 and had been aboard the Langley for several months. Their ship was in the South Pacific at the time the Japs made the sneaking attack on Pearl Harbor and were making their way to friendly waters when the ship was torpedoed by dive bombers and sunk. His mother, the former Miss Lillian Smiley, died when Bill was only 18 months of age, at which time he came to the home of his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Smiley at Kidds Store where he and his younger brother Jack made their home until the death of their grandmother in 1928, When they came to the home of their aunt and Mr. Carman to live with them. Their mother was married to Albert Woolridge, but both Jack and Bill changed their name to the maiden name of their mother upon her death and had gone under the name of Smiley since that time. He was the first battle casualty for Casey County and for some reason or other the Navy has had some hope of finding a trace of he and other members of the crew who survived the sinking of both ships. He was a fine young fellow and a graduate of the Casey County High School with the class of '38. His friends here, and they are legion,have been gravely concerned about him since notice was recieved of his being missing in action, and tender to Mr. and Mrs. Carman, to whom he was very much devoted, and to the brother and other relatives their deepest sympathy in this trying hour. These months that have intervened since his ship was sunk have been grave ones indeed for Mr. and Mrs. Carman, and they have hung on to the small thread of hope that he might turn up on some of the islands in the Pacific. The messge from The Secretery of the Navy severs that thread and they are now faced with the grave reality that he has paid the supreme sacrifice. May they be comforted in the thought that he died bravely and nobly for the cause of right and justice. Submitted by: Nancy Ellett http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00011.html#0002501 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/