Donald E. Smith
Age: 85
Born: Feb. 11, 1926
Hometown: Puyallup, Wash.
Residence: Thermal
Military branch: U.S. Marine Corps, 4th Infantry Division; 23rd Infantry Regiment; Expert rifleman rating.
Years served: Jan. 19, 1944 - June 18, 1946
Rank: Corporal
Family: Wife Ruth; two sons, David Smith of Riverside and Chris Smith of Thermal; one granddaughter; two great-granddaughters
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U.S. Marine Corps veteran Donald E. Smith, a member of a “scouts and snipers” team with the 4th Infantry Division, nearly got himself killed — before even stepping foot on a battlefield.
Based in Maui, awaiting deployment to Iwo Jima, Smith took advantage of the many recreational activities available on the island.
“I just about lost my life twice on Maui. One time in the surf and one time cliff-climbing.”
Luckily, the division departed for Iwo Jima before Smith found himself in another dangerous situation.
While sitting in the waters off of Iwo Jima, a volcanic island heavily defended by enemy soldiers — Smith was eyewitness to one of the most iconic moments of the war.
“From shipboard, we watched the flag-raising on Iwo Jima,” he said.
Smith went ashore the next day — six days into the 35-day battle.
By the time he hit the beach, that area was pretty secure, and the men didn't come under immediate fire.
Moving inland, Smith and his scouts and sniper squad quickly got to work.
“As soon as we started forward... we went beyond the front line, on point. Four to six of us were leading the way,” Smith said.
“The point of being a scout is to go in, get information and come back without leaving evidence that you were in there. You try to get information about the enemy that the enemy doesn't know you have.”
Although he witnessed death and destruction, he doesn't have vivid memories of carnage that keep him up at night. However, a few images of war are burnished in his memory.
“A number of us were sent back to get rations for our outfit,” he explained. “On our way back, we stopped on the side of a big shell hole. I was sitting there, looking across to the other side and saw a man lying there. I thought, ‘When he wakes up, he's going to have a sore arm.”
He said the man's arm was in what looked like an uncomfortable position.
“I didn't know he was dead.”
“I keep thinking I should have gone back and made him more comfortable,” he said, holding back tears.
Some of the images were surreal.
“Another time, I saw a man kneeling at the base of this cliff getting ready to advance — when I realized he was dead.”
The men perked up when U.S. fighter planes appeared over the island.
“I was laying back in my foxhole and watching the P-51s come in with their machine guns,” firing.
The aircraft would swoop down and unload a couple of rounds at the enemy before firing their rockets.
“We'd say, ‘Give it to ‘em, boys!'”
When the division got to Mount Suribachi and dug in at the base of the extinct volcano, they found that the ground was warm — too hot to sleep in the foxholes.
But the heat came in handy around mealtime.
“We could actually bury our C-rations in the ground, leave them there for 20 to 30 minutes, dig them out and eat them warm.”
After the war, he was assigned occupation duty on Okinawa, where he served as an MP and was responsible for keeping all military out of the rural villages.
Smith said he's proud of his service to the country, but was only doing what was required during a time of war.
He harbors no ill will towards the Japanese people. He only fought because that's what was expected.
Those on the front lines have to deal with the here and now, he said. They don't have the opportunity to see the big picture and judge the situation for themselves.
“Your view of war is what's in front of you — and what you can imagine,” he said.
Staff writer Denise Goolsby will profile desert veterans from World War II on Sundays. Contact her at (760) 778-4587 or via e-mail at denise.goolsby@thedesertsun.com
