Ok, folks, I found this to be an interesting story. Apparently, heroes aren't always good guys but they can rise to the occasion.
On with the story!
Maynord Harrison Smith was given the nickname of Snuffy when he joined the Army Air Corps.
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No Beans, not that one.
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This one! According to this source, he was a bit of a trouble maker. Drafted into the Army at 31, he seemed to find his place, although he still had "issues". In an interview with Andy Rooney (prior to Rooney's fame), it was noted that he was "a moderately pompous little fellow with the belligerent
attitude of a man trying to make up with attitude what his
five-foot-four, 130-pound body left him wanting.” As a result, his nickname (in the modern Air Force call sign) "Snuffy", was bestowed on him.
Suffice it to say when the time came, he arose to the occasion. An excellent retelling of his Medal of Honor mission can be found here. I'm not going to copy it or try to retell it. Go! I'll be here when you get back.
Wow! Right? Holy Mackerel, the courage exhibited (and to be honest, a touch of luck) is astonishing.
The quote "Where do we get such men?" (nowadays "such people”) was from James Michener's "Bridges at Toko-Ri" but President Reagan made it famous when he used it in a speech. It was true then, it is true now!
Smith's MOH citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the
call of duty. The aircraft of which Sgt. Smith was a gunner was
subjected to intense enemy antiaircraft fire and determined fighter
aircraft attacks while returning from a mission over enemy-occupied
continental Europe on 1 May 1943. The aircraft was hit several times by
antiaircraft fire and cannon shells of the fighter aircraft, 2 of the
crew were seriously wounded, the aircraft's oxygen system shot out, and
several vital control cables severed when intense fires were ignited
simultaneously in the radio compartment and waist sections. The
situation became so acute that 3 of the crew bailed out into the
comparative safety of the sea. Sgt. Smith, then on his first combat
mission, elected to fight the fire by himself, administered first aid to
the wounded tail gunner, manned the waist guns, and fought the intense
flames alternately. The escaping oxygen fanned the fire to such intense
heat that the ammunition in the radio compartment began to explode, the
radio, gun mount, and camera were melted, and the compartment completely
gutted. Sgt. Smith threw the exploding ammunition overboard, fought the
fire until all the firefighting aids were exhausted, manned the
workable guns until the enemy fighters were driven away, further
administered first aid to his wounded comrade, and then by wrapping
himself in protecting cloth, completely extinguished the fire by hand.
This soldier's gallantry in action, undaunted bravery, and loyalty to
his aircraft and fellow crew members, without regard for his own personal
safety, is an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.
Yah.... days back when you first posted the MOH list this was the first guy I read about since he was the first non-officer shown. Short guy, fit that ball turret eh? Having PTSD didn't help his natural attitude juvat although that first combat mission was no help.
ReplyDeleteI suspect first combat mission didn’t help anyone’s nerves. The fact that they would have to go back 25 times or more, speaks well for that generation.
Deletejuvat
Wow Juvat. A reminder that anyone from anywhere can, when circumstances require it, be a hero.
ReplyDeleteHaving competed in a sport where everyone around me was much stronger, I can identify with the idea of trying to move things one half to two thirds your body weight.
THBB, yes adrenaline and a will to live can be, no ARE, effective motivators and generators of adrenaline in doses large enough to do things that under normal circumstances would be impossible. That's the making of Heroes. Thankfully.
Deletejuvat
Snuffy was a character, I've known guys like him. But when it all was on the line, he came through.
ReplyDeleteYeah it’s easy to be a tough guy loner when your pink body isn’t at risk. It’s great to have people you trust and who trust you when it is. Learned that first hand sitting air defense alert at Osan ROK, live missiles and everything. The klaxon would go off, we would levitate out of the chairs and sprint to the jets, fire them up taxi to the runway way faster than normal taxi speed and do a burner takeoff and climb. It wouldn’t be until we were at altitude and headed north that the code word for practice scramble would be transmitted. My doctor now would go bananas if my heart rate ever got that high today.
Deletejuvat
At age 31, not some wild and crazy teen age. Great balls of fire, man. He was MOH worthy even before the part where he mummy wrapped to put the fire out by hand.
ReplyDeleteA humble and appreciative SALUTE to this guy! He even lived to receive the MOH, unlike so many which were posthumous.
I was inspired to learn more about this guy, and Wikipedia had a fascinating entry on him some of which may even be true:
"Maynard Harrison Smith was born on May 19, 1911, in Caro, Michigan. His father was a successful attorney, and his mother was a school teacher. As a child, he had a reputation of being a spoiled troublemaker, so his father sent him to the Howe Military Academy in Howe, Indiana. After graduating, Smith worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Michigan Banking Commission. In 1929, Smith married [but was] divorced in 1932. Smith's father died in 1934, and he quit his job, choosing to live off of his father's inheritance. He married his second wife [...in 1941, had a son, and divorced in September 1942]. 1942. Smith enlisted in the Army on August 31, 1942. An apocryphal story states that after Smith failed to make child support payments to Gunsell, he appeared before a judge who gave him the choice of serving a jail term or enlisting in the military, and he later appeared for a photo in the local newspaper with fellow inductees leaving for service still in handcuffs and escorted by the sheriff."
"Smith was assigned to KP duty the week that he was awarded the Medal of Honor as punishment for arriving late to a briefing. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson placed the medal around Smith's neck...."
"Smith flew four more combat missions after earning the Medal of Honor, but was then grounded as a result of combat stress reaction/Post-traumatic stress disorder and was reassigned to non-combat clerical work. On December 17, 1944, he was forced to accept a reduction in rank to private for poor job performance, and was shortly thereafter permanently grounded. Smith was sent home to the United States on February 2, 1945, and despite his transgressions, received a hero's welcome and a parade when he returned to his hometown. Smith was discharged from the U.S. Army on May 26, 1945. In his later years, he despised his time in the military and ran into legal troubles, but eventually retired quietly to Florida, dying of heart failure [in 1984 in St. Petersburg, FL.]"
Rudyard Kipling's "Tommy" was the same type:
"We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,"
John Blackshoe
[Sorry, missed the fact Juvat had a link to the WIki entry aleady. JB]
ReplyDeleteJB,
DeleteIf that's the worst thing that happens today, it'll have been a GREAT day! No worries!
juvat
One 'moment' of heroism, but overall he was 'not' a pleasant person. Still, he saved his crewmate's lives, and deserved the MOH.
ReplyDeleteGood point, He did come through when it counted.
Deletejuvat
Juvat, Not that it's a contest but I believe "Howlin' Mad" Smith asked the "Where do we get such men?" question at Tarawa. That might have been where Michener heard of it.
ReplyDeleteBoat Guy