"I had tea, and it probably saved my life." (Audio Interview, 1:48, Part II)

Warren M. Smith

War: World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955 Branch: Army Unit: 59th Coastal Artillery Service Location: Asia Pacific Theater; Corregidor (Philippines); also: Korea Rank: Chief Warrant Officer; Chief Warrant Officer Place of Birth: Harpster, ID

From bumming around on trains on the East Coast of the United States to plotting points for "disappearing guns" in a battery at the battle of Corregidor, Warren Smith's story is about a man who came from nothing to serving his country in World War II. Captured after the U.S. surrender, he survived an excruciatingly painful captivity in which he saw United States soldiers executed in front of firing squads and soldiers hanging from poles as a threat to any who tried to escape. After WWII he decided to stay in the Armed Services and fought in Korea from 1952-1953.