Smith, John L
Colonel John L. Smith, USMC, (1914-1972)
John Lucian Smith was born on 26 December 1914 in Lexington, Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps from that state in July 1936. Completing Basic School at the Marine Barracks, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, he had several east coast area assignments before entering flight training at Naval Air Station, Pensacola. In July 1939 he was designated a Naval Aviator and promoted to First Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain in March 1941 and to Major in August 1942.
While in command of Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223) during the first two months of the Guadalcanal campaign, Smith agressively operated against Japanese bombers and fighters. Between 21 August and 15 September he was personally credited with shooting down 16 enemy planes and his squadron was credited with a total of 83, contributing significantly to Japan's inability to drive U.S. forces from Guadalcanal. For his "conspicuous gallantry and heroic achievement " during much of this period, Major Smith was awarded the Medal of Honor.
After leaving Guadalcanal, Smith served in Washington, D.C., then deployed back to the Pacific and became Executive Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32). During late 1944 and the first half of 1945, he participated in aerial offensives in Bismarck Archipelago, northeast of New Guinea, then went to the Philippines for combat duty on Luzon, Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Returning to the U.S. in mid-1945, he was stationed at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida and at Quantico, Virginia.
Smith performed a variety of aviation duties in the United States, Cuba and Europe during the later 1940s. At the end of the decade he was the Marine Corps Aide to the Chief of the Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. In January 1951, he was promoted to Colonel and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) staff. Following a brief tour with Marine Training Group 10 at Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California, in July 1953 Colonel Smith went to Korea, where he commanded Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33) and later served with the First Marine Aircraft Wing. After returning to the U.S. in 1954, he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, attended the National War College and was a member of the Advanced Research Group at Quantico. In mid-1956, he became Liaison Officer on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. John L. Smith retired from active duty in September 1960. He died at Encino, California on 10 June 1972 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.
