Crew searching for family of firefighter killed in 1932

A crew from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is trying to find the family of a fallen firefighter.

In 1932, Frank Smith was buried in an unmarked grave at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton. It has been unmarked for seven decades and firefighters from WPAFB have placed a red marker on the grave while they hunt for Smith's family.

 "We've been unable to find descendants and with a name like Frank Smith it's very difficult to track down," said Roy Colbrunn, one of the firefighters searching for Smith's family.

Colbrunn and fellow firefighter Steven McKee, along with historian Larry Suttman, are doing everything they can to find Smith's family and give him a proper burial. The three men told News Center 7's Gabrielle Enright that Smith was 42 years old when he died, lived near Fairborn and was a firefighter at Wright Field, which is now WPAFB.

He was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 15, 1932.

"He died fighting a fire at a mortar pool from our understanding and a non-flammable tank exploded," McKee said.

McKee found a plaque in Smith's honor at his old firehouse, but soon discovered that his plot at Woodland was unmarked. McKee and other firefighters have teamed up with the cemetery and Dodd's Monuments to give Smith a proper gravesite.

Now they want to find out if he has family.

"We don't know what he looks like and that's a shame," McKee said.

Firefighters hope to have Smith's grave marked by spring. If you have any information about his family, call 257-3033.