VALOR lirst of the lbw On his first combat flak and cannon fire from FW- 190s. had bailed out or been kilkd, but mission. Sgt. Maynard The oxygen system and intercom since the B- 17 seemed to be holding were shot out. and intense fires formation. he assumed that the pi- Smith earned a unique broke out in the radio compartment lot. at least, was alive and at the place in the Air Force and waist section. The situation be- controls. heritage of valor came so critical that the waist gun- As long as the fighter attacks con- ners and radio operator bailed out tinued. Smith alternated between BY JOHN L. FRISBEE into the sea The tail gunner had manning the waist guns. fighting the been hit in the chest by shell frag- fire, and helping the tail gunner. iutt it Air Force and ments and was in serious condition. When heat in the radio compart- E fighters began arriving in En- Smith decided to stay with the ment began to detonate machine- gland during the spring of l942. The Sane. tend to the tail gunner as hest gun ammunition. he threw explod- first heavy mission against he could, and fight the fire, lie was ing .50-caliber belts out through a targets in Occupied Europe was isolated from the crew up front and hole burned in the side of the fuse- flown on August 17. 1942. Maj. at first did not know whether they lage. Gen. Ira Eaker. head of VIII Bomb- The attacks by fighters finally er Command and soon to lead the stopped, and Smith concentrated Eighth Air Force, had high hopes of on the fire. When all extinguishers sending massive formations against were empty. he wrapped himself in the and Germany's war- protective clothing and put out the supporting industry before the end fire with his hands. Then, fearing of the year. That was not to he. that the heat had weakened the The buildup of men and planes B-17's fuselage, the short, slight was slower than anticipated. Half of Smith threw out everything in the Eau's force was sent to North Af- rear of the plane that wasn't too hot, rica in late 1942 and early '43. and too heavy, or bolted down. With a what was left in England was fre- heroic assist from Snuffy Smith. the quently diverted in a fruitless cam- battle-scarred Fortress made it paign against German submarine across the Channel to a landing near pens along the Bay of Biscay on the Land's End, the extreme southwest west coast of France. The pens. tip of England. That B-17 had flown with their eleven-foot-thick rein- its last mission. forced concrete roofs, were imper- Six weeks later, Sgt. Maynard H. vious to any bombs the AAF had at Smith was awarded the Medal of that time, and were heavily de- Honor, the first enlisted airman ever fended by antiaircraft guns and to win the nation's highest decora- fighters. tion. He is one of only five enlisted On May I. 1943. Sgt. Maynard airmen—four in World War II and Smith. a B-17 ball-turret gunner one in Vietnam—to be so honored. known to his friends as -Snuffy. - After the Saint-Nataire strike. participated in a memorable strike Sergeant Smith flew live more mis- against the pens at Saint-Nazaire, sions before being grounded. By familiar to bomber crews as Flak that time, the submarine menace City. He was assigned to the 423d had faded, some of the pens had Squadron of the 306th Bombard- been blown up by rudimentary ment Group, one of the Eighth's guided glide bombs, and the Air battle-tested outfits, based at Force acknowledged that further at- Thudeigh. Smith enjoyed two dis- tacks would be a waste of effort. tinctions: Asa replacement. he was Those superhardened, heavily on his first combat mission, and at defended targets had tested the skill age thirty-two he was ten years and bravery of many airmen, among older than most of the rest of the them a small but courageous ser- Crew. On July 15. Maynard Snuffy " Smith, by then a staff sergeant. received the geant who was first of the few Shortly after bombs-away. Medal of Honor from Secretary of Was among his peers to wear the Medal Smith's 13-17 was hit repeatedly by Henry L. Strmson. of Honor. 120 AIR FORCE Megnins / April 1984