USS Indianapolis CA-35
Lost At Sea

Name: Byron Emery SMILEY
Rank / Rating: QM3-Quartermaster Third Class
Service #: 644 64 26
DOB: Oct 14, 1924
From: Denham Springs, LA
Parents: Leo Bernard and Jessie Mae Harris Smiley
Went Aboard: Oct 28, 1942
Age When Kamikaze Struck: 20 years, 5 months, 17 days
Spouse:
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Marilyn Northcutt Henry and Carl Fahnestock
Date Posted: Apr 02, 2026

During the battle of Okinawa, a Japanese Kamikaze plane made Indianapolis his target in the early morning hours of March 31, 1945. The damage to the ship was not severe but the attack took the lives of nine crewmembers including Byron Emery Smiley, age 20.

Byron was born October 14, 1924 to Leo and Jessie Mae Smiley of Denham Springs, Louisiana. Byron’s siblings were Robert Milton, Mae Belle, Daniel Roger, PVT Henry Bernard and Thomas Ray - nicknamed “Cheerios”. On board Indianapolis, Byron's rate advanced to S1c on May 1, 1944. On Sept 1, 1944 he advanced to QM3c(T) (Quarter Master 3rd class - Temporary) On the day of the kamikaze attack, a funeral service for one Sailor was held. The following day, April 1, 1945, at 1600 hours, a service was held for six crew members and included Byron. The service was held on the quarterdeck with full military honors by the ship's chaplain, Father Thomas Conway. After the funeral services, Byron's body was carried from Indianapolis by his shipmates for burial in the US Armed Forces Cemetery located on Zamami Shima, Kerama Retto, off the island of Okinawa. Learn more about the kamikaze attack and the nine men who died. Byron's brother, PVT Henry Bernard Smiley, served with the 60th Infantry Division of the US Army. Only 17 days after Byron, he was killed in action, April 17, 1945. What a compounded tragedy this was to the family of these brothers. They became a double Gold Star Family. Henry turned 22 on March 12th. His height at 6 ft 1 inch was topped with red hair, brown eyes and a freckled complexion. Henry left behind his wife of 4 years, Ruth LeBlanc Smiley and two daughters, Norma Pauline and Lyndell Rosalie Smiley and grieving family. After the war, families were given the opportunity to request that the remains of their loved one be returned to the US for reinterment. The remains of the other men killed during the kamikaze attack were transferred to the US in the spring of 1949, so it is reasonable to assume that Byron's body was returned in this time. Application for a government issued flat grave marker was submitted by the family in 1949. There is little doubt Byron's and Henry's remains were returned to the US and both were reinterred in Denham Springs Cemetery, Livingston Parish, LA. In the photo, below, the brother's names appear on a large marble headstone, symbolic of their being buried side by side: PVT Henry Bernard Smiley AND Byron Emery Smiley, QM3c March 12, 1923 - April 17, 1945 AND October 14, 1924 - March 31, 1945 The flat grave marker is not shown in the photo but was likely used as a foot marker.