Illinois Valley News

Ron Smith poses with “Big George“ during the Rotary Toy Run on October 23rd. (Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)

For Veterans Day 2010, Illinois Valley News met with several local veterans who gave their views on what the day signified to them. In light of errors made in that article, Ron Smith is helping to set the record straight.

Incorrectly listed as a merchant Marine, Smith had once sought to reach that position, but never did. Instead, he said he worked on submarines as suggested by a recruiter, and stuck with it.

At that time in 1975, those who wanted to be Merchant Marines had to go to able-bodied seaman school and pay advance tuition: money that Smith didn’t have.

“The Merchant Marine representative told me to join the Navy, go to sea and learn damage control,” Smith said. “When I went to the Navy, the recruiter suggested Submarines. I did, liked it and stayed.”

Since childhood, Smith has rarely lived in one place for long. His father was a World War II veteran and the family was always packing up and moving. But Smith and his wife have called the Illinois Valley home for about 15 years.

“We’ve lived here in the same house longer than I’ve lived in any place in my life,” he said. While in the Navy, Smith was constantly moving and did a variety of work related to sonar equipment maintenance and submarines.

Smith said he was a Chief Petty Officer in the Sonar Division, and reached the title of Senior Chief at his highest level. He was in the Navy from 1976 to 1993, when he retired.

Though always “one below the ‘best thing’” by his account, Smith and other veterans in the Valley don’t place much emphasis on rank. To them, and other vets, all individual contributions matter. Setting the record straight was vital for Smith, who seemed dismayed about cases where some people have mis-categorized themselves to elevate themselves further.

“I don’t like people who steal from each other,” he said. Stealing and lying, for him, are closely related, if not one and the same. But many local veterans, including those who achieved high rankings and received medals, don’t speak of it often.

“I was disgusted [when I discharged], not with the country, but with Washington D.C.,” Smith said. “The Vietnam War cost over 58,000 lives. It was all political crap from day one.” Smith did eventually say that he left the Marine Corps with a Good Conduct medal, a National Defense medal and a Marksmanship award during his service. By the time he departed from the USS Tunny SSN682, the 34th Sturgeon Class Submarine, he earned an additional Navy Unit Commendation, two Achievement medals, Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary medals and a “pat on the head.”

Smith is just one of several Illinois Valley area veterans who received many awards in their times of service. Like Smith, they were reluctant to say much about any awards they received.

After retiring, Smith went to school at North Seattle Community College and finished in 1995. At that point, he and his wife were deciding what to do next.

“When I was Senior Chief, guys from IBM, Rockwell, they wanted to have me,” Smith said. “That’s why I proposed it to my wife, whether she wanted me to make money or live where we wanted to.”

Eventually they narrowed it down to Cave Junction, where the smaller community provided a friendlier atmosphere and a sizeable veteran community of its own.

There is no Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post in the area, but Smith says people still step up within their own support network.

“I live on the end of a dirt road,” Smith said. “I like to leave people alone and be left well alone. But I help people whenever I can.”

Smith added that despite the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post 5995 of Cave Junction going defunct, support from all around can be found in the community.

“[For example] when an 80 or 85- year-old vet dies, people come bring food and support [to their families],” he said.

Perhaps it’s that quiet but unwavering support that Smith sees in the Illinois Valley.

In the 15 years he’s lived here, despite a growing population, other factors set the area apart.

“There are plenty of things to do here if you want to do them,” Smith said. “There’s no malls to hang out in, no Walmart to buy cheap goods.

But if you want to go out in nature, there’s a lot.”

“This place is really beautiful,” he added.

“I’ve met a lot of good, hardworking people. The bad element is such a small percentage.”

The meaning of Veterans Day cannot always be clearly defined. It isn’t just the deeds done by veterans, nor their sacrifices. It’s also how, and why. A few years ago, two young veterans of the United States Marine Corps died while defending fellow Marines in Al Anbar, Iraq. They were from two different battalions and came from different backgrounds: one from a poor family in Virginia, the other from Long Island.

Smith cites this story of these two soldiers who were ordered to keep any unauthorized vehicles from passing. A blue truck came speeding in and blew up, with an estimated 2,000 pounds of explosives, killing the men.

Reportedly, one camera caught footage of the young men just before the explosion. They did not back away nor hesitate in any way. Instead, they fired at the truck to defend the other Marines, who survived because of their actions.

This story was part of a speech given by Lieutenant General John Kelly of the United States Marine Corps on Jan. 6, 2011.

According to that story, Kelly’s own son was killed from an improvised explosive device (IED) days before. He never mentioned his son’s death, instead focusing on the sacrifice of the two young men in the USMC.

“It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated,” Kelly reportedly said.

“Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag or about their lives or deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty,” Kelly said in the story.

“[The story] says a lot of things that I can’t express properly, but believe in,” Smith said.

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