About
World War II (1939-1945)
Albert Walter Smith was born in Amsterdam, New York, on June 14, 1921. By 1925, he was living in the town of Rotterdam in Schenectady County with his family. He graduated from Draper High School in 1939, and while there, he played for the baseball, basketball, and soccer teams. Before entering the military, he worked at General Electric in the radio transmitter department.
In June 1942, Albert enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve. He received his training in Newport, Rhode Island. Albert was a radio operator, stationed at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. On July 17, 1943, Albert's plane was scheduled to return by 1:30 in the afternoon while on a Navy training mission in Pensacola, but it never arrived. The plane's remains and eight crew members were never found.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry