WWII soldier Richard R. Smith and Thanksgiving 1944 at Lawson General Hospital

It is always an honor to learn the story of a soldier who spent time at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia during World War II. Stories of soldiers who were injured and of men who did medical training at Lawson have been shared with me and I will continue to share those stories through pasttensega.com.

This history comes from Doug Smith, whose father Richard Rouse Smith, Sr., was wounded in France during July of 1944 and spent the last part of 1944 at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.

Richard Rouse Smith, Sr. was born in 1922 in Lenoir County, N.C. He was working at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia in 1942 when he completed his registration card. His home was Hilton Village, Warwick County, Virginia.

Smith was notified to report for duty on March 30, 1943, and transported to Richmond, Virginia for induction. From there he reported to Fort Bragg in North Carolina for training.

On Dec. 24, 1943, Smith left the U. S. and arrived in Britain January 11, 1944. He was part of the 4th Armored Division, 51st Armored Infantry, Company B. He trained near the village of Bromham, Wiltshire County, England.

Before he shipped out, Smith had a 30-day furlough and spent Easter 1944 with the Freeme’s family in Melksham. They were an elderly couple who had taken in a boy named Richard Holland (Holland was not an evacuee).

On July 28, 1944, Smith was sent to the town of Coutances, in the Normandy region of France. U. S. Troops were making their way across France following D-Day.

Two days later on July 30, 1944 Smith was injured when his Company was surrounded by a German unit. The men of Company B tried to escape, and Smith was wounded during the German attack. He lost 1/3 of his foot and his hearing on the left side. He developed ghost foot syndrome, where pain is felt in the area despite the loss.

He was sent to an evacuation hospital in Yeovil, Somerset County, England on August 1, 1944, then to another U. S. Hospital in Taunton, Somerset County England September 2, 1944.

He left Europe in September of 1944 and was sent to Halloran General Hospital at Staten Island, New York before being sent to Lawson General Hospital September 30, 1944.

Lawson General Hospital specialized in injuries to limbs and in the use of prosthetics where they could be helpful.

Smith remained at Lawson General Hospital for the remainder of 1944, so he was there over the Thanksgiving holiday. He attended a Thanksgiving dinner at Lawson General Hospital and one at the American Legion on Piedmont Avenue in Atlanta on November 29, 1944.

The dinner at Lawson General Hospital included roast turkey, southern dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. There was spiced pumpkin pie for dessert. In addition to coffee with cream and sugar, the patients and staff of Lawson General Hospital were offered cigarettes or cigars. The full menu is printed on the menu above that Doug Smith shared with me.

The American Legion event received a write up in the Atlanta newspapers. “Wounded veterans, 250 of them at Lawson General Hospital, enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast as guests of Post No. 1 American Legion at the hall on Piedmont Avenue. It was the second annual Thanksgiving affair give by Legionnaires for Lawson men.” (Atl. Constitution, Dec. 1, 1944)

The American Legion Thanksgiving dinner included special guests and speakers, Joel Chandler Harris, Jr. and his wife, Captain and Mrs. Anthony C. Reiger, musician Graham Jackson who played accordian, plus singing group- Six Georgia peaches.

Smith’s Thanksgiving program was signed by a few other Lawson patients.

The photo below from Smith’s time in Atlanta shows he and another soldier most likely in downtown Atlanta. The marquee in the upper corner is not readable, but perhaps they were at the Paramount or Fox Theater.

Richard R Smith, Sr. was able to be fully rehabilitated from his injuries. He wore special shoes provided by the Veterans Administration, but also sometimes wore regular shoes.

In addition to his U.S. Army Combat Infantry badge, Smith was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Service Star, and France’s War Aid Patch.

Thanks go out to Doug Smith for sharing his father’s story, photographs, and the Thanksgiving programs from 1944.

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