A Battle Creek man who fought and died in World War Two (WW2) was finally laid to rest Monday.
The funeral for Private First-Class Soldier Lowell Smith came 77 years after the young man of 24 died during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France.
On January 21, 1945, Smith was part of a Browning Automatic Rifle squad that got ambushed by German soldiers.
After the fight, Smith went missing for nearly eight decades, until the United States’ Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Smith’s remains in January of 2022 using DNA analysis.
His remains were flown to West Michigan on October 14th, and on Monday, Private First-Class Soldier Lowell Smith’s remains were buried at the Fort Custer National Cemetery in Kalamazoo, not far from where he grew up.
Meanwhile, Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered all U.S. and Michigan flags to be lowered to half-staff throughout the state on Monday in honor of Smith’s service during WW2.
The Governor said in a statement, “On behalf of the entire state of Michigan, I express my gratitude for Army PFC Lowell Smith for his service and the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” said Governor Whitmer. “PFC Smith’s heroism and selflessness are examples for us all, and we are grateful to finally have him home for an honorable burial. My thoughts are with his loved ones as he is laid to rest.”
