East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 1, 2016 Page: 2 of 20
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Thursday, September 1, 2016 I Vol. 36 No. 35 I Community I A2
Shelbyville native, Smith Lamar "Dugie" Carter, "part
of that'Greatest Generation'that we owe so much to"
S. L. (DUGIE)
CARTER
JULY 23, 99 ;
APRIL 1*1 1982
. J
II IK
First Lieutenant Smith Lamar Carter
us army air Forces, world war il
ndUHRI mk
WWW
FIRST LIEUTENANT SMITH LAMAR CARTER
United States Army Air Forces, World War II
Bombardier, B-24 #42-73025, 26th Bomb Squadron,
11th Bomb Group
©By Larry Hume, YFW Post 8904, Center, Texas
On December 23rd, 1943, B-24 Liberator Bomber
(42-73025), nick-named the “Kansas Cyclone” of the
26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, took off to
bomb Wotje, a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacihc
held by the Japanese. Obstructed by bad weather it
was decided by the crew to bomb Taroa in the Ma-
loelap atoll when they were jumped by 30 to 40 Japa-
nese Zero lighter planes. The Cyclone along with
two other B-24s, “The Galvanized Goose and The
Dirty Woman” pressed on into flak over the target,
taking hits, then rejoined the battle with the fighters.
The Cyclone’s gunners were credited with no fewer
than five Zero victories, but the bomber was riddled
and one crewman killed. The hydraulics were shot
out, one engine was gone and the emergency life raft
had been hit and ballooned out and broke free, crip-
pling the rudder as it slipped back into the airstream.
However, the pilot, Lieutenant Keith Wallingford,
of Manhattan, Kansas successfully landed the Kan-
sas Cyclone after a seven-hour marathon struggle at
Funafuti where the Americans had constructed an
airstrip 1.
The bombardier aboard the Kansas Cyclone that day
was Second Lieutenant Smith Lamar “Dugie” Carter,
of Shelbyville, Texas. Dugie as he was known to
his family and friends was born to father, Smith L.,
(1892-1951) and mother, Della Ballard Carter (1895-
1984) on July 23, 1919. He had one brother, Silas
and three sisters, Thelma, Louise and Joyce. A 1935
graduate of Shelbyville High School he attended
three years of college at Stephen F. Austin and then
graduated from Sam Houston State College. Some-
time during 1941 he enlisted in the US Army and on
January 19th, 1942 he was accepted into the Avia-
tion Cadet flying program and graduated as a Second
Lieutenant with Bombardier Wings.2
In late January 1944, a combined force of U.S. Ma-
rine and Army troops launched an amphibious assault
on three islets in the Kwajalein Atoll, a ring-shaped
coral formation in the Marshall Islands where the
first capture of Japanese pre-war territory and pierced
the Japanese defense perimeter. It took strategic
control of the Marshalls away from Japan and severed
their lines of communication, shortening the pacific
campaign with loss of American lives at less than one
percent. 4
A few months later he would return home on furlough
to marry Wilma Parker (1926-2000) on May 31st,
1944. World War II would continue for another 16
Japanese had established their outermost defensive
perimeter in World War II. On January 30, 1944,
after a massive air and naval bombardment, a U.S.
Marine and Army amphibious assault force of 85,000
men and some 300 warships) approached the Mar-
shall Islands. The battle for Kwajalein proved diffi-
cult but the island was declared secure on February 4.
Lieutenant Smith Carter of Shelbyville, Texas, age
24 at the time told of the part the “Kansas Cyclone”
played in the air raids at Kwajalein. “I saw 20 to 30
medium bombers (Japanese) dispersed in the run-
way area as we came in. Most of our string of 100
pounders hit the area and I could see the B-24’s on
our wings laying their strings of bombs across the
runway area. One bomb hit directly on top of a Jap
bomber. The whole area was entirely covered by
bursting bombs and plenty of smoke was coming up
as we left.”2 United Press war correspondent Mal-
colm Johnson reported “that the army fliers took their
Liberator bombers on a 2500-mile round trip and
when over target battled their way through vigorous
opposition with anti-aircraft fire and interceptors. But
our gunners shot down one Zero, probably destroyed
four others and damaged three more. Altogether the
bombardiers dropped 20 tons of explosives”.3
As part of Admiral Chester Nimitz’s “Operation
Flintlock” the capture of the Kwajalein Atoll was the
months and in late 1945 First Lieutenant Smith Carter
would be discharged leaving a legacy of patriotism
and heroism for others to follow. For his wartime ser-
vice he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
with 1 oak leaf cluster and the Air Medal with 3 oak
leaf clusters.5
Dugie and Wilma’s had four children, Mac T., Kit,
Bob and Gay. After the war I believe he worked in
the construction industry as a carpenter. On April
14th, 1982 Smith Lamar Carter died of a heart at-
tack at the age of 63.6 He was part of that “Greatest
Generation” that we owe so much to. Iam proud that
my first assignment in the US Air Force in 1962 was
to the 11th Bomb Wing, Altus AFB, Oklahoma that
traces its lineage directly to Lieutenant Carter’s World
War II unit. Day is done, God is nigh.
US Army Air Forces Patch, Bombardier Wings, First
Lieutenant Rank Insignia
WWII Honorable Discharge Lapel (Pin), Distin-
guished Flying Cross (with 1 oak leaf cluster),
Air Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters), American Cam-
paign Medal,
Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II
Victory Medal.
Submitted by Larry Hume, VFW Post 8904 Quar-
termaster, CMSgt, USAF (Retired), Vietnam
Veteran 1966 -1967
Rhodes-Martin wedding announcement
Steven and Rhonda Rhodes are proud to announce the en-
gagement of their daughter, Ashley Elizabeth Rhodes, of Fort
Worth, to Jose Mauricio Martin, also of Fort Worth. Ashley
is the granddaughter of Kathleen Mosby and the late Buster
Mosby of Garrison and Darrell Rhodes and the late Jean
Rhodes of Timpson. Ashley is a 2002 graduate of Garrison
High School and a 2006 SFA graduate with a Bachelor’s of
Science in Kinesiology and Education. She is currently pur-
suing her Master or Arts in Christian Education at South-
western Baptist Theology and is also employed with South-
western Seminary.
Jose is the son of Jose Mauricio Martins, Sr. and the late
Marina (Rocha de Silva) Martins of Brasilia, Brazil. Jose is
a 2009 graduate of Faculdade Teologica Batista de Brasilia,
Brazil with a Bachelor of Theology degree. He was ordained
as a Baptist Pastor in 2010 at the Second Baptist Church
of Brasilia, Brazil. He is pursuing his Master of Divinity at
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth
and is also employed with Southwestern Seminary.
The wedding is schelduled for October 1, 2016 at SWBTS in
Fort Worth.
www.easttexaspress.com
CM K
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East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 1, 2016, newspaper, September 1, 2016; Timpson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth899165/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Timpson Public Library.