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World War II submarine veteran Herman Smith tells his story

April 1, 2004
By: Cliff Judy
State Capital Bureau

Imagine living for three months straight in a metal tube 300 feet below the surface of the ocean. That was the reality for World War II submarine veterans like Herman Smith of Jefferson City, Missouri. Cliff Judy is in Jefferson City with the story.

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Herman Smith is a retired 82-year-old man from Jefferson City. These days he says he devotes most of his time to helping out whenever his kids or grandkids need him.

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Contents: Herman says, "If they want somethin', they'll go, 'Grandpa, will you do me a favor?'", laughs.

Things haven't always been this peaceful for Herman, though. He is a World War II veteran who served on submarines.

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Contents: Herman says, "Well, it was exciting to me at the time. I didn't quite realize what I was getting myself into, but...", laughs.

What Herman got himself into was a six-year stint in the U.S. Navy and 10 war patrols on submarines. This is his story.

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Contents: Herman says, "One of the lookouts, it was just almost daylight, he says he saw somethin', and he told the captain. He pointed out which way it was, and they could see somethin' over there. So they went over there to check it out. It was one of our flyers, he'd been in the water for five days."

Hang around Herman Smith long enough and you're bound to hear at least a dozen stories just like that one.

In the basement of his Jefferson City home, Herman has built a "submarine room." It's a room with enough pictures, books and other submarine artifacts to be called a miniature museum. An old photograph on the wall shows Herman wearing his Navy uniform. The young man in the picture still bears some semblance to the smiling white-haired vet recalling stories from sixty years ago. A sign on the wall reads, "There are two kinds of ships. Submarines and targets."

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Contents: Herman says, "It was somethin' out of this world, submarine service."

Herman Smith began his submarine career after he spent one year in college. He enrolled in the Navy on September 7, 1941, exactly three months before the Pearl Harbor attacks. He became a submarine electrician and served on 10 total war patrols, four with the USS Stingray and six with the USS Hardhead.

During World War II, enemy ships sank 52 of the approximately 250 U.S. submarines.

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Contents: Herman says, "So you figured if you made five runs, why, you was on your good luck from then on out. I made 10."

To this day, Herman can still remember the sound of depth charges in the water.

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Contents: Herman says, "You'd hear them splash when they hit the water, and then you'd hear them click. That's when they armed. A few seconds after that, they went off."

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Contents: Cliff says, "Did you ever feel like you had someone looking over you when you realize how many patrols you made?"

Herman says, "Yes, I did. When you went down, you heard those depth charges splash and click when they armed. That made you think."

The submariners of World War II compiled quite a resume.

Herman says 17 percent of Navy personnel served on submarines in World War II. But that 17 percent accounted for 65 percent of enemy ships sunk.

Now, some Missouri legislators are trying to honor the men who served alongside Herman Smith--the men who didn't come back from their service at sea. The men who are now said to be "still on patrol."

Columbia, MO Representative Chuck Graham is sponsoring a bill that would rename a 54-mile stretch of Interstate 70 as the U.S. Submarine Veterans' Memorial Highway. The 54 miles are meant to honor the 52 submarines lost in World War II and the two lost since then.

Herman says that this bill would mean a lot to him.

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Contents: Herman says, "It'll make me proud to think that they would do this for us, that the people realize that we did make sacrifices."

Until then, this World War II veteran says he will wait patiently in his Jefferson City home for the recognition he feels his fellow servicemen deserve. From Jefferson City, I'm Cliff Judy.