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TAPS
Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night. |

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BORN:
May 19, 1911 at Caro, MI
Entered Service in the US
Army Air Corps from Caro, MI
Earned the Medal of Honor during World War II For heroism on May
01, 1943 at Brest, France
DIED: May
11, 1984 at the age of 72
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Sergeant Smith
was a B-17 gunner on a mission to Brest, France on May 1, 1943
when his aircraft was badly damaged by antiaircraft fire and
fighter planes. It was Sergeant Smith's first combat mission.
Two crew members were seriously wounded and three others bailed
out. Sergeant Smith remained in the aircraft, fighting the
intense flames alone and administering first aid to the wounded.
He also manned the waist guns. When ammunition began to explode,
damaging the radio, gun mount and camera and gutting the radio
compartment, Sergeant Smith threw the exploding ammunition out
of the aircraft. He continued to alternate between fighting the
fire and manning the aircraft's workable guns until the enemy
fighters withdrew. After administering further first aid,
Sergeant Smith wrapped himself in protecting cloth and
extinguished the onboard fire by hand.
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