William Robert Smith

Winter Haven - William R. Smith, age 89 passed away September 1, 2012.

A mass of Christian burial will be Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 11:00 am at St. Matthew Catholic Church with burial to follow in Rolling Hill

My Father Bill was born in Washington DC January 20th 1923 to John Howard and Blanche Soper Smith. Bill was their fourth child. Growing up with his siblings, Howard, Margret, Barbra and Jack. He attended public school in Washington DC. As a kid he and Jack played ball in East Potomac Park, around the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He and his brother sold concessions at the old Polo field which later was the site of Griffith Stadium. On several occasions they met Babe Ruth when the NY Yankees were playing the Senators. In 1942 at age 19, he was drafted into the US Army. World War II was raging and he shipped out for Europe shortly after basic training. He was assigned to the 385th AAA AW Battalion as a truck driver and gunner on a halftrack vehicle. He arrived on the shores of Normandy 11 days after D Day. His first assignment was driving supply vehicles from the docks of Normandy France to Paris. This was called the “Red Ball Express” due to the speed the drivers had to maintain to avoid German fighter aircraft.

The 385th was assigned to General Omar Bradley’s 1st Army and was part of the “Push” into France/Germany. Along the way they “Liberated” a concentration camp, providing food and medical services to the predominately Jewish prisoners. This experience had a profound effect that stayed with him his entire life.

The 385th found itself on the front lines of the American assault. As such they took the main brunt of the German’s counter attack, now known as “The Battle of the Bulge”

As my Father would tell it, “ We had progressed well into enemy territory with little resistance. It was cold and snowing..along the way the engineers would mark where the Germans had placed land mines. We were moving so fast we didn’t have time to remove them, just mark with little red flags. The night the German counter attack began. I woke up to the sound of explosions and men running, German tanks went streaming by my position. The kid driving the halftrack panicked and took off right into a mine field (previously marked, but the snow had fallen covering the markers) “

The vehicle ran over a mine and blew up killing the driver and ejecting my Father out the top. He was found by the burial/recovery team the next day unconscious with compound fractured/broken femurs. He was sent to Belgium for medical treatment and was shipped back to the USA. His wounds required metals plates inserted to hold the bones together. It was the end of the war for him. He was awarded many medals including the Purple Heart.

In 1948 he met my Mother Lelia Alice Foltz, of Strasburg Virginia. Mom had come to Washington DC, right after High School graduation, during the war to work at the War Department. After a brief courtship they were married in early 1949.

In 1955 his first child Howard Michael was born followed 18 months later by his only daughter Cynthia Lee, in 1957 and then John Allen in 1963.

He provided his family with homes in the suburbs of Washington DC, Lanham Maryland and Wheaton/ Rockville , area of Randolph Hills. We never went without.

Throughout his life he enjoyed sports and was a lifelong Washington Redskin and Washington Senators fan. He introduced his boys to sports and was active coaching and mentoring young athletes. He devoted lots of time to helping the Wheaton Boys Club in a capacity of different roles. From coaching Baseball teams to being Baseball Commissioner for the league. People to this day comment what a great Commish he was J

In 1980 with retirement approaching they packed up and moved to Winter Haven Florida. To stay active he took small menial jobs to keep busy. They rented a small house in the South East section of town right near Lake Howard. Also at this time he joined the Winter Haven VFW Post. He truly enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow VETS and spent many a night sharing beers and stories.

In 1983 he became a Grand Father for the first time. He was anxious to meet Allison Michelle. He and Mom drove straight through from Winter Haven to Silver Spring , fueled by Mountain Dew sodas he drove the entire 15-16 hrs…this would become his standard mode of long distance travel.

Allison was soon followed by Kristen, Amy, Jenna, Anthony and Lindsay. He had 6 Grandchildren total.

In 1999 my Mother passed away from cancer. Dad was alone for the first time. It was hard for him.

He moved from the house to a small apartment in Winter Haven that catered to elderly.

The past 8 years he has faced a litany of medical issues, an enlarged prostate required perm catheters thru his stomach, which routinely became infected, MRS infections etc.. ..also at this time Alzheimer’s started to have its debilitating effects. The past 6 months have been extremely rough on him.

Through it all he always maintained a great sense of humor. Even when Alzheimer would rob his memories, he maintain his dignity and grace.

He taught us to treat others with respect, the same as we would want to be treated. He taught us to respect people older than us. He always pulled for the underdog.

In the end he was spent, the energy had faded, his close friends had passed on, and welcomed to be called home.