Smokey Smith: Joyful with an impish smile!

 

“I was no gawdamn hero … just an ordinary soldier doing my job”

There has been tension between the US and Canada lately. I’m a Buffalo boy who has visited Canada many times, and I hate to see this happen. I’ve seen some nasty American posts on X belittling the bravado of Canadians. No good, I say!

 

I want to introduce you to Ernest Alvia “Smokey” Smith of Vancouver, British Columbia. He was Canada's last surviving recipient of the Victoria Cross, Canada's highest award for valor, during the Italian campaign of World War II. Smokey passed away in 2005 at the age of 91.

 

As a retired USAF officer and Indochina War veteran, I’ve got to say Smokey is my kind of guy. The Globe and Mail of Canada described him as “a joyful man with an impish smile who savoured a good cigar, a well-aged scotch and the attentions of ladies the world over.” In short, Smokey had that look in his eyes!

 

There is a legend about this man. He has been described as an “independent-minded man” who did not take well to authority. He had issues with his officers and non-coms. He was promoted to corporal nine times and busted back to private nine times. He was a private when King George of Britain awarded him the Victoria Cross.

 

Private Smith acquired the nickname “Smokey” due to his impressive running speed in high school. He attended Herbert Spencer Elementary School and the T.J. Trapp Technical High School in New Westminster, British Columbia, his hometown. He played basketball, football, and lacrosse. The Vancouver Sun reported that he loved to hunt squirrels and was known as a bit of a daredevil.

 

New Westminster was a hub for gold mining, industry, and seafaring activities. Some of that must have rubbed off on Smokey. Smith worked in a cannery, at a shake mill, and in an electrical shop. With World War II underway, he joined the Canadian Army in March 1940, at the age of 25, making him older than most recruits. He became a member of the Seaforth Highlanders, known as Vancouver’s Infantry Regiment. He remained with the regiment for about five years, most of which was spent in the bloody Italian Campaign.

 

In the early 20th century, Vancouver had a large population of Scottish descent. In 1909, community members wanted to raise a Highland regiment in association with the Seaforth Highlanders of Britain’s Imperial Service. On June 15, 1910, the Militia Department approved the formation of the 72nd Highlanders of Canada. In 1912, it was redesignated the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada.

 

To tweak your memory, Britain proclaimed the Canadian Confederation in 1867. It included four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. British Columbia and Vancouver Island joined in 1871.

 

The British North America Act of 1867 resulted in Canada being declared a Dominion under the British Crown. It also required Canada to enter World War I. The 72nd Highlanders served in WWI as part of the 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division, the Canadian Corps. It fought at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. Two-thirds of the men were killed or wounded. Historians have argued that the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge contributed to the country's emergence as a nation. It would not be until 1982 that the Dominion of Canada would become an independent country and remain a member of the British Commonwealth. Today, King Charles III is Canada’s head of state.

 

As World War II began, the Regiment was mobilized as “The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada,” part of the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF). They mobilized in September 1939 and embarked for England by Christmas of that year. British forces were in France and Belgium at the time. The Dunkirk evacuation was completed in early June 1940. 

 

The 72nd Highlander was one of the few fully equipped British regiments ready to get in the fight. But it was held in Britain for island defense and to train for combat. The regiment was shipped to the Netherlands in March 1945, crossed into Germany in April, and was the first Allied force to liberate Amsterdam from the German occupation.

 

Let’s step back to June 1942. The regiment, about battalion size, was sent to Sicily. On July 10, 1943, it served as part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade and participated in an amphibious landing at Pachino Beach in southeast Sicily.

 

This was the largest beach landing in history before D-Day, and the first Canadian beach assault since the failed Dieppe landings in France the year before. The fight in Sicily would be the first taste of combat for the Highlanders in World War II.

 

The good news for the Canadians was that they landed in Sicily virtually unopposed. Smokey said there was hardly any resistance as the Germans had withdrawn, leaving the Italians to fight, and the Italians had given up. 

 

The bad news was that the sea was rough on the way to Pachino Beach. Smokey said, “Oh man, it was rough.” More bad news was to come. As the landing forces headed inland, the fighting became bitter. Private Smith took shrapnel to the chest and was in the hospital for the duration of the battle for Sicily.

 

On September 3, 1943, General Bernard Montgomery, of the British Army, led the British Eighth Army in an amphibious landing from Sicily into the mainland of Italy at its toe, “Operation Baytown.”

 

At about the same time, the US 5th Army, commanded by General Mark Clark, landed at Salerno, farther to the north, just below Naples, as part of “Operation Avalanche.”

 

General Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, Luftwaffe, commanded all German forces south of Pisa. General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commanded them north of Pisa.

 

By mid-September, the lower part of Italy, including Naples, had fallen into Allied hands. 

 

The Germans anticipated that the going would be tough after being evicted from Sicily. As a result, they established a series of defensive fortifications in Italy south of Rome, cumulatively known as the Winter Line. It consisted of three defensive perimeters of interlocking bunkers and fortifications that sealed off southern Italy. Together, they roughly paralleled the Sangro and Gorigliano Rivers on the east and west, respectively.

 

Breaking through the Winter Line along its entire breadth, capturing Rome from the south, and then heading northward turned out to be a massive and costly effort for the Allies. Smokey Smith and the Seaforth Highlanders were in the thick of much of this fighting and dying.

 

The British 8th Army was on the eastern coast, while the US 5th Army was on the western coast. Pvt. Smith returned to the Highlanders in December 1943. He was with them on Italy’s eastern coast near Ortona, which was just above the Gustav Line. The plan was for the British 8th Army to cross the Sangro River and hook left toward Rome from the east, while the 5th Army would come at Rome from the south.

 

The Canadian forces captured Ortona in December 1943. The Battle of Ortona was fierce. The German battle-hardened First Parachute Regiment had dug in, the streets were narrow, and casualties were hefty, but Smokey Smith survived. Even though he was a private, he was a 28-year-old private, and despite his distaste for authority and inability to hold on to his stripes very long, he was put in charge of a section of the Highlanders. Together, they fought with enormous bravado. The battle for Ortona was the first large-scale battle for the Allies in an urban setting. Fighting was street-to-street, house-to-house, hand-to-hand.

 

The Highlanders and Loyal Edmonton Regiment entered the town on December 21. The Germans had hidden machine guns and anti-tank emplacements throughout the city. The Canadians became involved in house-to-house fighting; They employed a tactic known as “mouse-holing,” wherein they blew holes through the walls of buildings, allowing them to move from one room to another without having to go out onto the street.

 

The fighting in Ortona has been nicknamed “Little Stalingrad.”

 

Following the battle for Ortona, the Highlanders, now down to some 100 men, were integrated with the 1st Canadian Corps, and they moved from the east coast to the west. The Canadian movement confused the Germans, who worried they would spearhead an amphibious assault north of Rome. However, the Canadian Corps positioned itself near Cassino in the Liri Valley on the west, and following the American and Commonwealth breach of the Gustav Line near Cassino, led the charge through the Hitler Line to the northwest. Casualties were very high, yet Smith survived.

 

However, on the night of October 21, 1944, the Seaforth Highlanders were ordered to cross the Savio River, establish a bridgehead that would enable reinforcements to cross and push the enemy back, allowing engineers to build a bridge capable of supporting armor for the march on Rome. Smith has described the mission this way:

 

"The whole Canadian Army was held up behind us, and we couldn't get out of it. So they sent my crew in. There were six of us. By then, we were pretty good with Bren [large machine] guns and tommy guns, and we could blow up tanks."

 

The Highlanders waded across, but a heavy downpour of rain caused the river to rise six feet in two hours, effectively cutting off reinforcements. The Highlanders were now on the other side of the Savio, and reinforcements were not coming behind them. They were alone.

 

The Germans employed armor and infantry to counter them. The Seaforths had a weapon known as the PIAT, which stands for Projector Infantry Anti-Tank. In short, it was an anti-tank weapon, and a good one at that. Smith organized PIAT teams and positioned them in the path of the approaching enemy.

 

Smith and one comrade, Jimmy Tennant, moved to the path of a German MkV Panther tank and jumped into a ditch alongside the road. Tennant was hit by grenade shrapnel, so it was Smokey against the Panther. At a range of 10 yards, Smith fired a PIAT round, disabling the tank and killing or wounding the entire crew. 

 

Ten German infantrymen dismounted the tank and chased after Private Smith. Smith had the advantage, however. The fire from the tank blast lit up the German infantrymen's positions and blocked their view of Smith, but Smith could see the Germans, and he had a Tommy gun. He opened fire, killed four, and watched the other six retreat, no doubt because they could not see from where the Tommy gun fire was coming. Smith has described it this way:

 

"They charged toward me, I killed four of them. I aimed for the middle body, where it hurts. The others turned around and fled, thank Christ. All the others knew was the tank was hit and then there's a big burst of fire and four guys drop. They weren't going to keep charging ... The four soldiers were badly hit, so they just died. I'm not sure about the guys inside the tank, but when a shell hits a tank in the side it makes a hole and the explosive goes inside and usually kills everyone inside or they'd be badly wounded and they'd burn. Sometimes, you'd hear yelling and hollering but you weren't going to open the door. I didn't wound many people; if I shot someone they were going to be dead. It didn't bother me. When I got back, I had people saying, Christ he's a cruel bastard. I'd say, 'Oh well, I was there and you weren't.' I didn't worry about it."

 

Within a very short time, more German troops attacked, and a second Panther tank supported them. Private Smith jumped into a ditch, gathered together several abandoned magazines of .45 ammunition, and engaged the attacking infantry from the middle of the road. He halted the attack, and those alive retreated. Other Seaforth PIAT teams silenced the self-propelled guns in the area. The Panther, however, continued to fire directly at Smith's position. 

 

Nonetheless, he ran over to his wounded sidekick, Jimmy Tennant, and helped him to an aid station. Smith then returned to the battle scene, but the Germans had left.

 

Smokey Smith (right) and friend Jimmy Tennant, whose life he saved the day he won the Victoria Cross (1945).

 

Private Smokey Smith's fight with the Germans on this day in October was over. But now he had to contend with the brass. Within a few weeks, he was summoned to his battalion headquarters, where he was essentially arrested, taken to Naples, and thrown in the slammer. 

 

He was to receive the Victoria Cross from King George, and his officers, aware of Smokey's reputation, felt it best for him to be held in jail until they could arrange for him to be flown to London. And, by the way, when he arrived in London, he was thrown into the slammer again until he could be taken to the palace to receive his award.

 

Legend has it Smokey commented on the ordeal this way:

 

“There's a town full of women out there, and here I am in jail. It's only because I was good-looking.”

 

No worry, though. Smokey went to a pub after the ceremonies and had a few pints. No one was counting.

 

Earl McRae, writing "Last post for Canuck hero" for the Ottawa Sun on August 4, 2004, said he met Smokey in Italy in December 1998 and asked him about the action for which he received the Victoria Cross. McRae reported that Smokey answered like this:

 

"I was no gawdamn hero. I was just an ordinary soldier doing my job. I didn't want to die that night. Did I feel fear? Only a f-- king idiot wouldn't feel fear. Hell, I'm no better than any other soldier who fought. I'm proud of the VC, but, geezus krise, it's not like I was out to get it. I did what I did and apparently you get the VC for that."

 

About 93,000 Canadians served in Italy; they suffered 26,000 casualties, including nearly 6,000 dead. About 500 died in Sicily, the rest on the mainland.

You've seen the opening photo of this man. He has one of the greatest smiles of all time. His smiles and the way he carries himself are uplifting. God's speed, Smokey. We love ya!