Picture this: it’s July, 1943 and in any day you’re going to receive the Medal of Honor for the “undaunted bravery and loyalty” you displayed two months ago on the first of May. But first … you have KP duty as punishment for arriving late to a meeting!
Maynard Harrison Smith was stubborn, arrogant, and from what war correspondent Andy Rooney learned from Smith’s peers, “a moderately pompous little fellow with the belligerent attitude of a man trying to make up with attitude what his five-foot-four 130-pound body left him wanting.” But when it mattered most, Smith truly rose above and beyond.
Volunteering to be an aerial gunner was one of the fastest ways to make sergeant in the Army during WWII – and Smith preferred to give orders rather than take them. Just one month after completing his training, Smith was on his first mission when his plane took several critical hits from a mix of anti-aircraft and fighter plane fire.
Immediately intense flames engulfed the center of the plane, severing its oxygen system and communications, and triggering three of the crew to bail out over sea. Meanwhile two other men lay gravely wounded.
Without hesitation, Smith proceeded to administer aid to the wounded crew then alternate between battling the flames and manning two .50 caliber machine guns against incoming fighter planes.
The fire was so intense, equipment all around began melting. As ammunition boxes began exploding from the heat, Smith began throwing it out the plane, as he continued to alternate between tending to the wounded, manning the guns, and extinguishing the fire.
After receiving his medal, Smith returned to fly four additional missions before combat stress saw him reassigned to clerical work for the war’s duration. It would also lead to his drinking and poor performance resulting in a demotion to private in late 1944. You read that right; a #MOH recipient reduced in rank.
In civilian life, he faced many legal problems and grew to resent the military. On May 11, 1984, Smith passed away at the age of 72 in Florida, where he had finally found some form of peace and quiet. His grave is located in Arlington’s Section 66.