Portrait of Giles J. Smith, Jr., a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Marines. Giles, also known as Jim, was born on March 9, 1921, in Kansas City, Missouri. Giles, a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity while at the University of Missouri, received his commission as a fighter pilot on June 26, 1943. He married Verdella Rothband on June 29, 1943, and in October was sent to the southwest Pacific. He was killed in action on May 1, 1944. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.
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