World War II collection, 1924-1976

Col. David J. Smith was born in 1901 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Raised in a military family, David was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At 33 years old, he married Anna Olson before enrolling in the army in 1940. He deployed with the first American troops to Africa and later served in campaigns to Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. He became a decorated soldier and the British and French governments acknowledged him for his bravery. In 1947, shortly after the war, he passed away after suffering a heart attack while hospitalized for complications from malaria pneumonia.

Carl A. Hrusa was born on April 4, 1925, in Staffordville, Connecticut, to Charles Hrusa and Margaret Horton. He joined the Navy in 1941 and served on the USS Curtis where he survived two Kamikaze attacks and achieved the rank of Machinist First Class before being honorably discharged in 1946. He married Reva Copenhaver in 1945 and worked for United Aircraft as a jet engine technician until his retirement in 1980. He was active in the Masons and the Oriental Shrine and attended St. John’s Episcopal Church. He passed away from leukemia on May 25, 2005, in Logan, Utah.

Reed S. Roberts was born on November 14, 1919, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Benjamin Henry and Loye Stewart Roberts. The family moved to Logan after Reed finished the second grade and he went on to graduate from Logan High School in 1937. He went on to earn a B.S. in 1942 and an M.S. in 1947 from Utah State University and work on a PhD at the University of Utah and University of Kansas. During WWII Reed served in the U.S. Army where he was stationed in the Philippines and worked as an entomological technician in the 40th Malaria Survey Unit. On August 6, 1947, he married Marie Pendrey Roberts in the Logan LDS Temple. He went on to work for the Utah State Department of Health and Utah State University, where he taught Bacteriology, Public Health, School Health, and General Entomology, and worked as an extension entomologist. Reed passed away on November 12, 2006, in Logan, Utah.