- Joined
- Oct 11, 2010
- Messages
- 12,375
- Reaction score
- 6,931
- Age
- 60
Furman L. Smith was born in Six Mile, South Carolina on May 11, 1925. He was drafted into the United States Army on July 28, 1943 at age eighteen. Like so many young Americans ripped from their civilian lives to fight in distant lands, Smith held just a grammar school education and had been a farm hand in Central, South Carolina.
Smith was placed as a rifleman with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division. On May 31, 1944 as his company was beleaguered a Nazi counter attack near Lanuvio, Italy, Private Smith refused to abandon several of his wounded comrades to capture by the enemy. The young private’s lone, defiant stand cost him his life. Placed them in a shell crater . Smith alone faced the enemy attack killing and wounding as many as he could. Smith stood his ground until he was shot and killed.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Smith was placed as a rifleman with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division. On May 31, 1944 as his company was beleaguered a Nazi counter attack near Lanuvio, Italy, Private Smith refused to abandon several of his wounded comrades to capture by the enemy. The young private’s lone, defiant stand cost him his life. Placed them in a shell crater . Smith alone faced the enemy attack killing and wounding as many as he could. Smith stood his ground until he was shot and killed.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.