Marcus Edmond Smith was drafted from Indian Trail High School in the 11th grade in 1945 in the US Army. He was with the Military Police as a Corporal from 1945 until 1947. He served in Germany, France, and Austria. Had Smith been a year older he would have been in some "hot battles." He was awarded a European Theater Medal and a diploma from the Military Police School.
Smith and his wife Mildred married almost 50 years ago and have two children -- Avanda Starnes and Terri Smith. They also have two grandchildren -- Jeffrey and Heather Starnes.
Smith retired in 1989 after 38 years of working at a plant. Since then he has been traveling and has been to Nova Scotia, Key West, Branson, Niagra Falls, the Hersey Factory, the Great Lakes, the Mall of America in Minnesota and more.
Smith writes that he will never forget: "After riding a boat for 9 days and 9 nights, some of us were plenty sea sick. When we landed in France the Red Cross gave us coffee and doughnuts. Some of the guys didn't want them. They threw them on the ground, little hungry kids grabbed them about as soon as they hit the ground. It was heartbreaking to see. Some towns were destroyed so they didn't rebuild in the same place. It was quite an experience for a lad of 18 1/2 years old."