Gen. Swing’s sword
Even though Smitty had earned his points to go home, he was still an NCO on General Swing’s staff and was required to finish out his duties as such. After going through combat in the South Pacific, it would be in peaceful occupational Japan where Smitty’s temper would get the better of him.
Non-nonchalantly going about his business at the headquarters of Camp Schimmelpfennig, Smitty just happened to glance through the glass partition that sealed off Gen. Swing’s office. Inside was an officer holding and admiring the Japanese sword that his commander intended to keep and bring home as a souvenir. Smitty didn’t think much of it at the time; he was busy and many people commented on the weapon. so he continued down the hallway. A short while later, the entire office could hear the general demanding to know what had become of his sword. It was gone.
My father didn’t think twice, this was his general. He went into the room and told Swing what he had witnessed. Without a second thought, the two men went to the other man’s office, but neither the man or sword was there. The officer in question showed a few moments later. When the general explained why they were waiting for him, the officer became indignant and professed his innocence (just a tad too much). My father said the air of tension in the room became thick enough to use a machete on. This was when Smitty’s temper went out of control and with one right cross – sent the officer through his own glass partition.
Of course, this action made it necessary to bust Smitty back down to private, but he didn’t care about that. He was still furious that the sword was never returned. It all could have gone worse if the general had not been there or if he did not believe Smitty’s word. Smitty said it was worth being busted just to wipe the smirky grin off the officer’s face. The officer, I believe, was a replacement and had not seen much (if any) combat, just a blow-heart. Smitty later offered his two Japanese swords to General Swing, but he refused. My father didn’t believe the general would have taken the Emperor’s own sword as a replacement. I can clearly see my father’s face contort when he thought of the thief and he would say, “That know-nothing mattress salesman from Texas!” I’m sure it was for the best that the two men never met again stateside as civilians.
Unfortunately, a similar incident occurred to my father. As he happily began packing to go home, Smitty noticed that an expensive set of carved ivory chop sticks he had purchased somehow had disappeared. They also were never recovered. (I had often wondered if the two incidents had been related, but I suppose we’ll never know.)
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Norbert Antor – Comstock Park, MI; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Milton T. Bauer – Newton, KS; US Air Force, Korea, pilot, Distinguished Flying Cross
Wiiliam A. Gardner – Allentown, PA; US Army, Korea / asst. chief scientist for NASA projects
Wing O. Hom – Boston, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Co B/7/3rd Infantry Division, KIA (Cisterna di Latina, ITA)
John L. McGraw – Summit, NJ; US Navy, Jacksonville Naval Air Station
Bobby Osborne – KY & OH; USMC, Korea, Purple Heart / Grand Ole Opry singer, “Rocky Top”
Anthony J. Palmer – Grove City, PA; US Army, Korea
Paul D. Rooney – Somerville, MA; US Coast Guard
Donald D. Shorr – Forest Hills, NY; US Navy, WWII
Ricky Z. Simon – Delray Beach, FL; US Army, WWII
Garrett A. Sullivan – Cambridge, MA; US Air Force, Korea
James W. Thompson – Wheeling, WV; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Corpsman w/ USMC
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Posted on July 17, 2023, in First-hand Accounts, Post WWII, SMITTY, WWII and tagged Army, family history, Gen. Swing, History, Military, Military History, Pacific, Pacific War, Smitty, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 128 Comments.
We’ll, I guess it’s better Smitty punched the guy rather then General Swing. To bad the general could bail out Smitty.
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He had no reason to punch the general, just the wannabe with sticky fingers!
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WOW! Kudos to your dad, the hero! I’ve heard similar stories in my family too, both from my grandfather in WWII and my uncle in ‘Nam, about some joker in the unit having sticky fingers and such. I understand why it was protocol that your dad be demoted, but I think he should’ve also received a medal for his honor in speaking up. Cheers for Smitty! ❤️
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Thanks. That’s hw I felt about it. Regulations demanded he be demoted…BUT….
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