Harold C. Smith

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Private Harold C. Smith, 32 746 970, Infantry, Service Company (then Company “L”), 7th Infantry Regiment. On 10 April 1945, when heavy enemy small arms fire near Steinach, Germany, wounded six members of his Company and forced the rest back 50 yards to positions of cover, Private Smith voluntarily set out to rescue the casualties. Crawling under enemy fire at 125 to 725 yards range, that struck all around him, he reached the first wounded man, who had been hit in the lung, and dragged him back to safety. Private Smith then made five more trips, each under fire that barely missed him, and evacuated the remaining five casualties. He was thus responsible for saving six comrades from serious injury or death.