Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ralph Corbett Smith (November 27, 1893 – January 21, 1998) was a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. After receiving early training as a pilot from Orville Wright he served

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the We ...

's army against

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

, was decorated for bravery in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and commanded the 27th Infantry Division in combat in the Pacific War in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. At his death Smith was the oldest surviving general officer of the Army.

Early life

Born in Nebraska, Smith attended Colorado State College and served in the Colorado National Guard. He was an early aviator and was given flying lessons, as a young officer, by Orville Wright, and his pilot's license, signed by Wright, bore the number 13 because he was the 13th person to receive one. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

into the Infantry Branch of the

in 1916 and was involved in the Army's unsuccessful

Mexican Punitive Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

, whose

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

(CG) was

John Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

, against

, just before the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in early April 1917. During

Smith was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

with an Oak-Leaf Cluster for two instances of bravery while serving with the American Expeditionary Force (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 Infantry Division. He was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continui ...

in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the latter half of 1918 and served in occupation duties in Germany after the war. Between the world wars his duties including teaching at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and attending, and then instructing, at the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perman ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

World War II

Smith was a temporary

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

when the United States entered

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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeu ...

to form the

V Amphibious Corps The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Flee ...

for the purpose of invading and securing the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

in the Central Pacific. While the Marines took the major objective,

Tarawa Atoll Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
'' Operation ''Galvanic''), the Army was tasked with capturing

Makin Atoll Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets al ...

( Operation ''Kourbash'') approx. 120 statute miles to the north. The corps commander,

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith, expected the Army's 6,500 men to be able to overwhelm the 800 Japanese defenders in a day. Furious upon being informed of a lack of progress, Holland Smith went to Makin to assess the situation: "When he arrived at Ralph Smith's HQ he was told that there was heavy fighting in progress in the north of the island. Commandeering a jeep, he drove to the scene of the 'battle' and found it, in his words, 'As quiet as Wall Street on a Sunday.' ... This incident was the catalyst for a serious breakdown in relations between the Marines and the army that continued until well after the war." Four full days were required to conquer Makin. In July 1944, the V Amphibious Corps, now including an additional Marine division, was assigned to the invasion of the Mariana Islands. In this action ( Operation ''Forager''), Ralph Smith's division fought alongside the Marines in the hard struggle for the mountainous island of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...

. During the fight for Mt. Tapotchau in the center of the island, a vast difference in training and tactics between the Marines and the Army led to the

106th Infantry Regiment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

failing to reduce the area known as "Hell's Pocket", thus falling far behind the advance line of Marines. The corps commander, already ill-disposed toward the 27th Infantry Division because of its perceived lack of aggressiveness on Makin, relieved Ralph Smith of command and ordered him off the island. He contended that Ralph Smith's men had "failed to attack on time," unnecessarily costing Marine lives in the conquest of the island. Five times in the Pacific Theater of Operations were Army generals relieved of command, but it was unprecedented for the order to be given by a Marine Corps general, and the incident caused a considerable rift between the two branches. The Buckner Board, an all-Army panel that investigated the incident, concluded that, while Holland Smith had the authority to fire Ralph Smith, he had not acquainted himself with the particular difficulties faced by the Army troops in the fight for Mt. Tapotchau and that the firing was "not justified by the facts." Ralph Smith was given command of the 98th Infantry Division charged with the defense of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

, but the negative publicity associated with his firing on Saipan made it impractical for him to remain in the Pacific Theater. He was thus transferred to Camp J.T. Robinson, Arkansas, where he supervised the

Infantry Replacement Training Center The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War II. History It was established as part of the Army Ground Forces in March 1942, after it was noted that divis ...

.Rottman, p. 29 Smith went on to serve as the

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Oppo ...

at the United States Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...

's chief of mission for France. While he worked for CARE he also oversaw operations in other

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

an countries. Smith was decorated with the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for his service in World War II. Smith retired from the Army in 1948.

After retirement

General Smith was a fellow at Stanford University's

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes Economic liberty, personal and economic liberty, Free ...

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

External links