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Paul S. Smith
US Army B. Battery 164th Field Artillery Btn.
My father (Paul S. Smith) served in the 40th Infantry Division, 164th Field Artillery Battalion, Battery B. He was originally deployed to Hawaii on Molokai right after Pearl Harbor, he told me they toted phone poles back and forth on wheels so if the Japanese were watching off the coast they would think they actually had their 105s with them. They were sent from there to the south pacific when we struck back. He served in Bismarck Archipelago, Luzon, Southern Philippines. They were stationed in Korea for the invasion of Japan at the war end. He often told me that he does not think that would have gone well, and probably would not have made it back. My Dad never talked much about the war. I wish I had asked him more before he passed away ( I was only 19).
I am not sure who the two fellows are in this photo. They seem to have been his friends as they appear in other photos with him. I have his discharge papers, his medals (including arrow head The Arrowhead device is awarded to any service member who participates in an amphibious assault, a combat parachute drop, a helicopter assault landing, or a combat glider attack) I remember him telling me they were put on the beach to support amphibious landings)
I have had to do my own research to find out many things but wanted to put something together for my two children and pass on what their grandfather did during the war, I think that is an important thing that we not forget what others have done.
