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Friday, March 29, 2024

WW II Veteran, POW Shares His Story

Credit: WAAY ABC Huntsville, AL
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WW II Veteran, POW Shares His Story
WW II Veteran, POW Shares His Story
Dan Shaffer sat down with Rothacker Smith to hear his stories of valor.

There are some still among us who were eye-witnesses to moments that shaped the future of our country.

Rothacker smith is one of those people.

He is a 96-year-old decorated world war two veteran.

That alone makes him a national treasure.

But he was also wounded in combat - taken prisoner - witnessed the attrocities of the holocaust - and is one of the few surviving "buffalo soldiers."

"i had vowed never to cross the mason dixon line going south again in my life."

And yet here he sits smack dab in the heart of dixie telling his story.

You see, he had some bad experiences in the south as a young man.

He grew up in the mostly de- segragated north, in and around detroit, michigan.

In 1943, he was drafted into the army.

He and a handfull of black recruits were sent to georgia to be trained as medics.

He was 21 and had heard about the racial tensions in the south.

Now he would experience it first-hand.

"we had various problems because the army was segragated then, for sure."

He almost glosses over them.

But he still remembers.

There were some black soldiers who had been stationed near the canadian border.

"and two or three of the guys had married white women who were canadians, french canadians and they came to georgia to visit their husbands."

They were lining up to go to town one saturday afternoon.

One interracial couple never made it.

"they killed him that day.

And she died the next day."

He was assigned to the 366-th infantry regiment attached to the 92nd division one of a few segregated all- black units called the buffalo soldiers.

They were first established in the civil war and remained active until the army was de- segregated in 1948.

He was in europe on d-day, driving trucks and guarding weapons depots while four thousand mostly white soldiers died on the beaches of normandy.

It was a turning point for the 92-nd.

"two months after that they decided, well, we can put some black people in and let them get shot at, too."

His all-black regiment ended up on the front lines in northern italy, holding the small town of sommocolonia.

The day after christmas, german and austrian soldiers carried out a surprise attack.

Smith and several others took cover in a small house.

"and i went to the far wall and bent down and a one-twenty millimeter mortar shell burst through the window and peppered me."

"with few supplies and little ammunition, the 92nd knew they couldn't stop the germans, but they were determined to slow them down.

One of the soldiers - lt john fox - surrounded by the advancing enemy - ordered an artillery strike on his own position, killing himself along with, by some accounts, up to a hundred enemy soldiers.

When the fighting was done, most of the black soldiers holding the town were dead.

Smith was badly wounded.

In what he thought were his final moments, he turned to god."

"the rumor was out that hitler had issued a standing order to kill all black prisoners."

"so i start trying to pray.

And something kept saying, 'you're too late.

You should've done this last week.

You're gone now.'" but god had other plans for smith.

He and several others were taken prisoner, eventually ending up at a p-o-w camp in southern germany.

Along the way, he remembers seeing "dachau" concentration camp.

"where you could see the ditches with arms and legs and heads sticking all up."

He fought the cold, hunger, and bed bugs for four months.

Then one morning in late april of 1945, he heard a familiar sound: american tanks approaching fast.

"they came to the gate.

And they didn't bother to open the gate.

They just ran over it.

And then we saw the swastika come down off the headquarters post and the stars and stripes go up.

And that's when i cried.

And i saw other men cry."

He still proudly flies the flag.

He has a purple heart and a bronze star - symbols of his service and sacrafice.

Oh - remember that vow he made to never cross the mason dixon line again?

Well he broke that on a road trip to huntsville after the war.

He met and eventually married dorothy who had graduated from oakwood university.

He's earned five degrees - including a phd.

And he fought segregation and prejudice right here in north alabama.

"i became the fourth black registered voter in madison county."

These days he shares his stories to keep the memory of the brave men of the 92nd infantry alive - and to bear witness to what he sees as a larger fight that is far from over.

"i have seen a lot of changes.

And then i've seen folk who just could not change."

It took more than 50-years for the heroic actions of black soldiers were recognized.

But smith was there - standing with president clinton - when lieutenant john fox and others were presented with congressional

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