World War II was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The Allies (United States, British Commonwealth countries, and the Soviet Union) fought against the Axis (Germany, Japan and Italy).
Norman Bertrand Smith was born on September 11, 1921 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. His parents were John Elmer Smith and Emma Ethel Bertrand. His childhood nickname was "stormy."
Norman fought in Europe in World War II. He was in the infantry and was wounded in Germany on the Elb River. He was awarded the purple heart.
He married Clara Keatley. Shelley Mitchell wrote
They were telling me about when they went to Las Vegas with Joe and Joy to get married, and went on a little side trip to see boulder dam. After enjoying it for a while, they got ready to leave and realized they'd locked the keys in the trunk of the car, so Norman hot-wired the car to get back to town in time for the wedding. Clara says she thought he was a genius.
Norman adopted Clara’s daughter. Shelley Mitchell wrote
They were also talking about how right after they got married, Norman wanted to adopt Clara's daughter. They had a friend whose brother was a lawyer, and went to see him. He immediately jumped to the conclusion that they were trying to give her away, and offered to adopt her himself. Norman decided they needed a smarter lawyer, brother or not!
Norman worked at Northrop and North American Aviation in sheet metal layout. His hobies included reading, gardening, travel, and fishing.
The lived in Hawthorne California near Norman’s brother’s Lee and Joe and sister Hazel until retirement when they moved to Visalia. In Visalia they had a small nut orchard and Clara would sell them in Farmer’s markets.
