Person:Robert Smith (28)

Robert Charles Smith's birthdate on his New Mexico birth certificate is 30 April 1923, but he celebrated it on his mother's birthdate, which was 1 May.

Memories by Carlee Smith:

Robert Charles Smith"  He took voice training.  He liked to sing.  He played football on the football team.  He liked to act in plays.

I sorted some of my mother's papers and found a journal she had written about my father, Robert Smith's military history.   I will capsulize it.

In September of 1929, Robert started to school in the first grade of the Aztec Public School, then managed to squeeze by into the next grade each year, except for one year when he misjudged his teachers laxness and had to try the fourth grade twice.

On June 18, 1941, he rode a bicycle 20 miles into Farmington, New Mexico to join the United States Marine Corps. After being taken to Denver, Colorado, where he was given a physical examination and sworn into the Corps at 4 o'clock on June 23, 1941.

At 9 p.m. he with 21 other fellows boarded a pullman for San Diego. They arrived about 4 p.m. on Wednesday Jun 24, 1941, to begin the worst six weeks of his life--"Boot Camp."

He and 59 others were formed into Platoon 40 under Platoon Sergeants...

Then began the days of "Fall in! Fall out! On the double! Column right ! Column left! right oblique! left flank! rip ho! rip Ho! Platoon halt! forward march! scrub your clothes! field day, chow down. Hold that mess gear level, don't spill any chow on the deck, mail call, forget that letter, get closer to that razor! shine those shoes! oil that rifle! Hair cuts, drawing clothes, shoes too big, long days, short nights, ten mile hikes, inspections.

Then came the rifle range, pistol range, 22 range, firing a rifle with a 200# man on his shoulders, off hand setting, kneeling, prone to standing to prone, standing to sitting, rapid fire, slow fire.

After one more week of reconversion, so they said. [I don't know what this means] Finally final inspection then break up.

After spending 5 weeks in Sea School he was transferred to United States Fleet Training Base Marine Barracks San Clemente Island San Diego California There he remained for eleven months.

Until December 7, 1941, there was very little to do except sleep whether on watch or off.

On the first day of December 1941, he was granted liberty to expire on December 9, 1941 at 8 O'clock when the ship would arrive at the island. He spent four days of that liberty in St. George, Utah. [out of bounds]

In fact on the evening of December 7, 1941, he was about to board the bus to return to San Diego when he heard for the first time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which he wouldn't believe until they put off civilians to pick up service men returning to camp.

After his return to camp, the training began. After so much free time, 5:30 AM reville was rather hard to take. He is now thoroughly convinced that in all the training he has taken that he has never seen an obstacle course or a training course as rugged as San Clemente.

The island was turned into a training base for the Coast Guard and for the Roosevelt Raiders. Between training with the raiders and training [with] the Coast Guard, the next five months were plenty rugged.

On August 31, 1942 he was transferred to "I" Co 6th Reg. 2nd Division Fleet Marine Force, Camp Pendleton California, where he trained until the 27th September, 1942, when he was granted a 13 day furlough which was spent in St. George, Utah. Upon his return to Camp, preparations were made for boarding ship to destination unknown.

After boarding the DSS Brastogi, a converted Dutch freighter on Sept 19, 1942, the convoy sailed from San Diego bay at 5:30 pm on Sept 20. Next was 25 days of crowded compartments, salt water baths and stinking galleys.

At last his company was told their destination and for two days there was a hustle and bustle to get everything in readiness for combat and final letters home. Then came a change of orders--instead of Guadalcanal, they would go to New Zealand.

After 25 days on that pig boat, the sight of land looked mighty good to him and all the rest of the outfit.

At least when the ship ;was just entering the harbor there was nothing there but square red patches all over the hillside, no one knew what they could be and soon there were a few green squares here and there amongst the red. After about an hour the spots became roofs of houses. At last he was in the land of the Kiwi.

After staying in New Zealand for six weeks he sailed on December 26, 1942 for Guadalcanal and arrived there on January 4, 1942 to relieve the 8th Reg 2nd Div and serve with his outfit as mop up detail. They only spent six weeks there as the Island was secured. The ship went back to New Zealand where 90% of the men suffered from malaria. Eventually he was shipped to California.

He saw action in Japan as their ship shelled Okinawa and another town. Then he spent the rest of his career in Spokane, Washington.

1. ↑ Birth certificate.

   Birth Certificate for Robert Charles Smith-- State of New Mexico
   file number: 19233081070
   Date of Birth: April 30, 1923
   County of Birth: San Juan, New Mexico
   Sex: Male
   Name of Father: Carl L. Smith
   Name of Mother: Ella M. Wood
   
   Date of registration: April 30, 1923

   Birth Certificate for Robert Charles Smith--see image

2. ↑ Obituary and/or funeral program
   Deseret News & Tribune, 5 Jul 1993.

   Robert Charles Smith
   
   Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, Robert Charles Smith, age 70, died July 3, 1993 in West Valley City, Utah.
   
   Born May 1, 1923 [Actually 30 Apr 1923 according to his birth certificate], in Aztec Mexico [New Mexico], son of Carl Leroy and Ella May Woods [Wood] Smith.
   
   Married Mona Cox, later divorced; married Beverly Jean Hunter, she died November 13, 1968; married Ruth Marble May 19, 1969.
   
   Survived by his loving wife, Kearns, Utah; daughters Sandra Gwilliam, Salt Lake City; Annette A. Grossnickle, Elko, Nevada; sons, Terrill L. Smith, Salt Lake City; Scott O. Smith, West Valley City, Utah; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson.
   
   Retired from Hill Air Force Base after 25 years. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts of America Committee, Veteran of World War II, serving in the Marine Corps, South Pacific; received the Purple Heart. Founder and member of the Kearns Utah Fine Arts Council.
   
   Funeral Services will be held Thursday 12 noon at the Kearns 7th Ward, 4270 W 5700 South. Friends may call Wednesday 6-8 pm at McDougal Funeral Home 4330 South Redwood Road, and Thursday at the church one hour prior to services. Interment Autorest Memorial Park, Ogden (Chapel of Flowers).

   Obit for Robert Charles Smith-see text & image
   Date and place of birth is incorrect in the obituary. According to his official birth certificate, his birth was April 30, 1923, in New Mexico. His birth certificate does not name the city of birth. [See image in Robert Charles Smith's birth sources]

3. ↑ Obituary and/or funeral program.

   Robert Smith's funeral program lists Aultorest Memorial Park as his burial spot. See image. His birth date from the official New Mexico birth certificate was added to this program later.