Ralph Corbett Smith papers, 1862-1993

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Summary

Creators:
Smith, Ralph Corbett, 1893-1998
Abstract:
Correspondence, diaries, reports, writings, and printed matter relating to the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, activities of the Command and General Staff School and Army War College in the inter-war period, and American military operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Extent:
40 manuscript boxes, 7 oversize boxes, 1 audio cassette box, 1 card file box, 9 oversize folders, memorabilia (27.15 Linear Feet)
Language:
In English and French
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ralph Corbett Smith papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Ralph Corbett Smith papers consists of correspondence, diaries, orders, maps, reports, lectures, books on military history, military textbooks, photographs, and clippings related to the course of Smith's career in the Army. Smith served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, taught at the Command and General Staff School and Army War College in the inter-war period, and played a vital role in American military operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II, commanding the Army's 27th Infantry Division. Arranged in five series: Diaries, Correspondence, Army files, Photographs, and Published Material.

Biographical / historical:

Major General Ralph Corbett Smith was born in 1893 in South Omaha, Nebraska. After attending Colorado State College, he served in the Colorado National Guard. Smith was an early aviator and was given flying lessons by Oroville Wright. In 1916, Smith was commissioned into the US Army as a second lieutenant. Smith served under General John Pershing in punitive expedition against Mexican revoluntionary Pancho Villa before the United States entered World War I. From 1916-1918, Smith served in World War I, primarily in France, and was twice decorated for bravery. He was wounded in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918.

Between the world wars, Smith taught at West Point. He also attended and subsequently taught at Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1942, he was promoted to Major General and took command of the 27th Infantry Division of the US Army. Troops under Smith's command captured Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, the first central Pacific island to be recaptured by the Allies in 1943.

A year later, the 27th Division took part in the struggle for the island of Saipan in the western Pacific. Major General Ralph C. Smith was relieved of command by Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith of the US Marine Corps, causing controversy between the Army and the Marine Corps. Major General R. C. Smith was later exonerated by an Army board of inquiry. From 1945-1946, Smith served as a military attaché at the US embassy in Paris and CARE's chief of mission for France.

In 1948, Smith retired from the Army and became a fellow at the Hoover Institution. His first wife, Madeleine, died in 1975. Smith was remarried in 1980 to Hildy Jarman; she died in 1995. In 1998, Smith died at home in Palo Alto at the age of 104, the oldest surviving general officer of the US Army.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1978.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 11, 13-15, 17-18, 24, 29, 34-35, 49-50, OCM15 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ralph Corbett Smith papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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