A Marine general who was born in a small Texas town and spent almost none of his life there is an odd candidate for a Texas birthday. Still, I'd rather claim him than not.
Oliver Prince Smith was born October 26, 1893, in Menard, the county seat of Menard County. He went on to command the 1st Marine Division at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, one of the best-known battles of the Korean War. That's why Texas cares, and why the state Senate later passed a resolution honoring him.
A Menard birth and a California childhood
Let's be straight about the Texas part. Smith was born in Menard, but his father died when he was seven, and his mother moved the family to Northern California. He finished Santa Cruz High School in 1911 and then worked his way through the University of California, Berkeley.
So he's a Texan by birth and a Californian by upbringing. I'd argue that's still a real claim. Plenty of people are Texans by a lot less, and the Texas Senate agreed enough to adopt a resolution in 2013 paying tribute to his life and legacy.
He reported for active duty as a Marine second lieutenant in 1917. His first overseas tour was on Guam, where he married Esther Laurilla King of Hayward, California.
The long climb through the Marine Corps
Smith's career was not a quick rise. He served in places as different as Haiti, Iceland and Paris, where he attended the French war college, the École Supérieure de Guerre.
In World War II he led the 5th Marine Regiment in the Talasea phase of the Cape Gloucester operation. He became assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division for Peleliu. Later he served as Marine deputy chief of staff of the Tenth Army at Okinawa.
By 1950 he was a general with real seasoning, and the Corps needed that. In June of that year he was named commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, just as the Korean War opened.
Chosin Reservoir
His division landed at Inchon, then pushed north. In November 1950 it was surrounded at the Chosin Reservoir by vastly superior numbers. The Texas Senate resolution says Smith directed the breakout and the march to the coast. That march ran roughly 70 miles to the port of Hungnam.
Smith is also tied to a famous line: "Retreat, Hell! We're just attacking in another direction." Wikipedia notes the quote is often misquoted, so the exact wording is worth treating with some care. What isn't in doubt is the outcome. The division fought its way out.
For Korea he received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. His other honors included Navy and Army Distinguished Service Medals and the Legion of Merit.
He came home in May 1951 and commanded Camp Pendleton. In July 1953 he was promoted to lieutenant general and led Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. He retired as a four-star general on September 1, 1955.
Smith died on December 25, 1977, in Los Altos, California, at age 84. He's buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery.
What strikes me is how little noise surrounds a man who got a whole division out of that trap. Menard is a long way from the Chosin Reservoir, and there's no telling how many other Texas-born people have a story like this one that never got attached to the state.
Do you count Texans who left as babies, or only the ones who stayed? Tell us in the comments.
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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