Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Lou Smith

WWII | F Company, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 3rd Division

On Guam, Lou Smith was made a scout because he was from Kentucky. He wasn't too sure about that but he learned the job and set about mopping up the enemy on the island. He is still shaken to this day by what happened when a Japanese soldier blundered into the almost deserted camp and everyone went for their rifles. (5:31)
They were training for the next operation after securing Guam without knowing what it would be. Marine Lou Smith was a scout but he wanted something else. After a last skirmish line across the island to flush out the final holdouts, he got his wish. (3:12)
One morning the Marines got breakfast made to order, so they knew they would have to saddle up very soon. B-29 pilots had been telling them that where they were going, they could walk right in after the pounding they had delivered. Lou Smith and the rest of those men had a ring side seat, waiting just off shore at Iwo Jima and watching as that prediction was proven very wrong. On the fourth day, they joined the battle. (3:16)
Heading inland on Iwo Jima, Marine Lou Smith dug in and waited for morning. Advancing across the air field, he got his first taste of machine gun fire and then an artillery barrage for good measure. The next day, as he crouched behind a knoll, a grenade trailing smoke landed right there. Part 1 of 2. (4:56)
It took a while to find the aid station on Iwo Jima after a long night in a foxhole. Lou Smith's left side and hand were peppered with shrapnel and he set off on what turned out to be an epic search for the aid station. Comfortable at last on a hospital ship, he witnessed an emotional and stirring burial at sea. Part 2 of 2. (4:59)
Lou Smith was evacuated from Iwo Jima to Saipan, then to a hospital in Hawaii. That was tough duty, recuperating with the swimming and the girls. One thing haunts his sleep, though, until this day. He had been throwing enemy grenades back the way they came when he was wounded, and this is key to his nightmares. (4:09)
Louie Clark

WWII | USS Haynsworth (DD-700)

Drafted in 1943, Louie Clark headed to Navy boot camp where he was a guinea pig in mustard gas experiments. Officially denied by the Navy for years, the tests, fortunately, did not seriously affect him and he went on to wondering why boot camp was so rough and repetitive. The reason became clear in battle. (4:13)
Louie Clark joined the crew of the destroyer USS Haynsworth as a Storekeeper. In those days, a sailor carried his mattress on his back along with his seabag. The Haynsworth became part of the Pacific fleet, starting with the Formosa campaign. He says the ship had a "devil dog" Captain, a man angry with the world. Clark just wanted to get back home to his girlfriends. (4:02)
After the USS Haynsworth sank a Japanese vessel, the survivors were reluctant to even grab the life rope. They finally did and were taken aboard. Louie Clark remembers his time with those men and their curious ways of strict hierarchy and constant bowing. (4:07)
At first, Louie Clark's battle station on the destroyer was on a 20mm gun. He thought that was a little too dangerous so he moved to a 5 inch gun as a loader. He describes the many weapons carried by the ship and it's role in the fleet. One duty was picking up downed fliers, which earned the crew a tasty reward. (4:52)