Kenneth Baxter Smallwood was born on 20 October 1911 in Jonesborough, Washington County, Tennessee. He enlisted in the United States (US) Army on 7 April 1941 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia with service number 34041141. He completed Basic Training (Boot Camp) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Private Smallwood was first assigned to a communications unit, before being reassigned to Company D, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion. On, 26 January 1944, Kenneth was listed as Killed in Action and Missing when the lend lease ship to His Majesty's Royal Navy (Landing Ship Tank LST-422) struck an underwater mine during Operation Shingle. It was moored in the Anzio Harbor, Italy during very rough seas (20-30 foot waves) that caused the ship to pull away from her anchorage and drift into a German underwater minefield.
As the Captain was informed of this, she hit and exploded a mine around 0520 (5:20am) ripping a 50 foot hole in the bottom of the starboard (right) side of the ship between the main and auxiliary engine rooms. The explosion also immediately ignited the ship's fuel oil supply and other fuel being carried on ship as well as some munitions that quickly engulfed LST-422 trapping a majority of the troops below deck.
Orders to abandon ship were given, but over 450 men were lost between the British Navy crew and the US Army soldiers on board. To make the disaster even worse (Landing Craft Infantry) LCI-32 coming to help with the rescue, also hit a mine and another 30 American sailors and soldiers were lost. Due to the intense heat and magnitude of the fire and that later this day at 1430 (2:30pm) the ship broke in half and sank made the identification and recovery of Kenneth and the others below deck impossible.
Kenneth was 32 years old and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. He's listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nuttuno, Rome, Lazio, Italy. Kenneth also has a Memorial Marker (cenotaph) at the Maple Lawn Cemetery in his hometown of Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Kenneth's the son of Noah Baxter Smallwood and Minnie Correll.
Kenneth Baxter Smallwood was born on 20 October 1911 in Jonesborough, Washington County, Tennessee. He enlisted in the United States (US) Army on 7 April 1941 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia with service number 34041141. He completed Basic Training (Boot Camp) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Private Smallwood was first assigned to a communications unit, before being reassigned to Company D, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion. On, 26 January 1944, Kenneth was listed as Killed in Action and Missing when the lend lease ship to His Majesty's Royal Navy (Landing Ship Tank LST-422) struck an underwater mine during Operation Shingle. It was moored in the Anzio Harbor, Italy during very rough seas (20-30 foot waves) that caused the ship to pull away from her anchorage and drift into a German underwater minefield.
As the Captain was informed of this, she hit and exploded a mine around 0520 (5:20am) ripping a 50 foot hole in the bottom of the starboard (right) side of the ship between the main and auxiliary engine rooms. The explosion also immediately ignited the ship's fuel oil supply and other fuel being carried on ship as well as some munitions that quickly engulfed LST-422 trapping a majority of the troops below deck.
Orders to abandon ship were given, but over 450 men were lost between the British Navy crew and the US Army soldiers on board. To make the disaster even worse (Landing Craft Infantry) LCI-32 coming to help with the rescue, also hit a mine and another 30 American sailors and soldiers were lost. Due to the intense heat and magnitude of the fire and that later this day at 1430 (2:30pm) the ship broke in half and sank made the identification and recovery of Kenneth and the others below deck impossible.
Kenneth was 32 years old and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. He's listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nuttuno, Rome, Lazio, Italy. Kenneth also has a Memorial Marker (cenotaph) at the Maple Lawn Cemetery in his hometown of Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Kenneth's the son of Noah Baxter Smallwood and Minnie Correll.
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