George Elwood Alton
Smith Lake Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311, United States
Date of Birth: 03/21/1933
Date of Death: 09/02/1953
From: Maryland
Death Location: Smith Lake, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
On September 2, 1953, 40 trainees with the 406th Engineer Training Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina were given a demonstration ride aboard an engineer pontoon raft on nearby “Smith Lake. The raft was actually two pontoons tied together. The raft overturned when the men moved to one side of the raft as it took on water after hitting a large wave. Twenty trainees, many of whom could not swim, drowned. Lt. Vale G. Bruner was in charge of the training.” – Korean War Educator
George is buried in West Ripley Cemetery, Ripley, Maine.