February 6, 1943 - February 1946

He was a senior in high school when the Japanese bombed pearl harbor on December 7, 1941.  Within the week, one half of the boys in his class were gone.

He was drafted on February 6, 1943.  He went to Salt Lake City to begin training. He had only been to SLC two times before in his life.  He went to Fort Douglas, Utah. With-in three days they got their uniforms.

They were loaded on a train and they did not know were they were going.  The blinds were down on the boxcars.  Everything was kept secret.  They were on the train for1 day and one night.  They reached Orange Groves, California.  They were in the Nanny Aircraft Outfit.  They trained for six months.

He was in the 53rd Anti Aircraft Artillery Intelligence Battery.  They identified airplanes.

He was sent to Hawaii.  There were twelve observation points on Honolulu.  They spent two weeks at the main headquarter were they were tested and had shots.  He was posted at observation point seven.  It was on the west point of Oahu, at Kiena Point.  It was a hundred feet above the sea. 

Back a hundred yards was the living shack.  It had a kitchen and one bedroom.  He lived there for 1-½ years with five people.

After he was there for 12 months, he was put in charge.  A mule came up a hill every week.  It carried 10 gallons of water and box of groceries to them.  By the shack were guns and 120-ml bullets.  Just in case, they spotted ships or airplanes.

While he lived there, they gave each other haircuts and did their own cooking. They lived on powdered eggs and donuts. 

In the whole time he was up there, there was only one time a officer came up to check on them.  They played cards with matches for money and played horseshoes to occupy the time.  
 

Smith raised dogs and traded the pups for whiskey.

He was released in February of 1946.  He was in the army for 3 years and had a very quiet, peaceful life compared to some WWII veterans.