Ralph C. Smith
Ralph C. Smith | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ralph Corbett Smith |
Born | South Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | November 27, 1893
Died | January 21, 1998 Palo Alto, California, U.S. | (aged 104)
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1916–1948 |
Rank | Major general |
Unit | Infantry Branch |
Commands held |
|
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Early life
Ralph Corbett Smith was born in Nebraska. He attended
He was
During World War I, Smith was awarded the Silver Star with an oak leaf cluster for two instances of bravery while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front. He was sent overseas with the 16th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Division, towards the end of 1917, later being transferred to the 4th Division. He was wounded in action in the Meuse–Argonne offensive in the latter half of 1918 and served in occupation duties in Germany after the war. He then studied at the university of Paris at the Sorbonne, and the École militaire.[2],[3]
Between the world wars his duties including teaching at the United States Military Academy and attending, and then instructing, at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
World War II
Smith was a temporary colonel when the United States entered World War II in December 1941. In 1942, promoted to brigadier general, he served as an assistant division commander of the 76th Infantry Division, later becoming a major general and taking command of the 27th Infantry Division, the unit charged with the defense of the outer Hawaiian Islands.
In November 1943, the 27th Infantry Division was incorporated with the
In July 1944, the V Amphibious Corps, now including an additional Marine division, was assigned to the invasion of the
Ralph Smith was given command of the
Ralph C. Smith retired from the Army in 1948.
After retirement
General Smith was a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.
He died in 1998 of a lung ailment. He was the last surviving US general officer to serve in World War II.
Personal life
His first wife, Madeleine, died in 1975.
In 1980 he remarried to Hildy Jarman who died in 1995.
References
- ^ Pace, E. (1998) " Gen. Ralph C. Smith, Honored For War Bravery, Dies at 104", The New York Times. January 26, 1998. Retrieved 5/9/08.
- ISBN 978-1-316-51181-7.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- ^ Morison, S.E., Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls: June 1942 - April 1944, Vol. 7 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Boston: Little, Brown and Company (1951), LoC Card No. xx-xxxx, p. 89
- ISBN 978-0451475046, p. 77
- ISBN 1-84176-102-8, Chapter 14
- ISBN 1-84176-804-9, p. 64
- ^ "The Generals Smith", TIME Magazine. September 18, 1944. Retrieved 5/9/08.
- ^ Morison, S.E., New Guinea and the Marianas: March 1944 - August 1944, Vol. 8 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Boston: Little, Brown and Company (1953), LoC Card No. 53-7298, p. 332
- ^ Rottman, p. 69
- ^ Rottman, p. 29
Further reading
- Goldberg, Harold J. (2007). D-day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34869-2.
- Hyperwar The War in the Pacific. Campaign In the Marianas [1]
- Smith v. Smith [2]
- Howlin' Mad Vs. the Army: Conflict in Command, Saipan 1944 [3]
- Ralph Corbett Smith papers, Hoover Institution Archives, [4]