WORLD WAR II
1st LT Robert Smith Roddy

413 Army Air Force Bomb SQ
(That unit is on his tombstone, Rose Hill Cemetery, Bells, Grayson County, Texas)
But he worked and died in; 305th Bombardment group,366 Bombardment Squadron
He was the Co-Pilot -KIA 
the memorial to the crash site
 
B-17 (42-29792)
"Barrel House Bessie From Basin Street"
IT WAS NAMED FOR A LOUIE ARMSTRONG SONG

Crash site Memorial

A different accounting:"They were assigned the U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France.
Missing In Action St Nazaire 29/5/43 with Jim Perry, Co-pilot: Bob Roddy, Navigator: Herb Korenko, Bombardier: Russell Rose, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Frutch, Radio Operator: Harold Perry, Ball turret gunner: John Gemmel, Waist gunner: Mike Macinsky, Waist gunner: Ralph Vitello (9 Killed in Action);Tail gunner: Ray Allaby (POW-only chute to open in time); flak, crashed St Nazaire, Fr."

Born 27 Aug 1920 - Died 29 May 1943 He was the son of Wright S Roddy & Naomi A Roddy His Military Serial Number; 0-663566 His enlistment date; 30 Dec 1941, He enlisted in Dallas. He was single, an Aviation Cadet, b1920, he had two years of college, his civil occupation; Actor. Army Air Corps.

This article is from "The Men and Women in World War II From Grayson County" "Fightin Men" 3 Sep 1942 "Fightin Men" Dallas Morning News 18 Dec 1942 Dallas Morning News 11 Jun 1943 He was married to Betty Jo Wilson Roddy The Whitewright Sun 10 Jun 1943 Fort Worth Star-Telegram 8 Dec 1943 The Bonham Daily Favorite 14 Apr 1946 The Whitewright Sun 11 Nov 1943 He was buried in France until after the war and reburied in Bells in Aug 1949

---

Grayson County Military Page
Susan Hawkins
©2025

If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message.