STARKVILLE — Andrew Lee Smith can still remember the bombing runs.
Flying over enemy territory during the height of World War II, Smith was a fresh-faced 22-year-old from Mantee, serving as an Army Air Force navigator on a B-24 bomber. His job, along with the rest of the B-24 crew, was to “uproot everything we could,” he said Tuesday evening from his table at Starkville Cafe, whether it meant bombing rail lines in Italy and Germany, enemy fuel supplies in Romania, or any number of other targets.
Now 88 years old, Smith moves a bit slower than he once did and his hearing has deteriorated a bit, but his eyes still light up when he recalls his time overseas, sometimes returning to base with his plane riddled in bullet holes.
“There was fear and all, but that was part of being in the service,” he said with a smile.
Smith was one of about 30 veterans who congregated Tuesday at Starkville Cafe for a ceremony to honor those who served in World War II. The celebration came on the 65th anniversary of the day U.S. soldiers erected an American flag at Iwo Jima — an action photographer Joe Rosenthal depicted in the photo that has become an iconic image of World War II.
“A moment like this, when you’re in a room full of World War II veterans, is the type of moment that gives you chills,” Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said from the packed dining room in Starkville Cafe. “You realize all of the wonderful things we enjoy about this country and the world today were made possible by the tremendous sacrifices of their generation.”
The Center for America’s Veterans at Mississippi State University has partnered with the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum to chronicle the stories of Smith and other local World War II veterans. The University and Heritage Museum are calling on veterans to come forward and tell of their experiences in World War II, whether overseas or here in the U.S.
Each veteran will be videotaped, and their story will be archived at MSU. Each veteran also will receive a copy of their interviews on DVD, Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum board of directors member Bill Poe said.
Maj. Andrew Rendon is director of the Center for America’s Veterans and served as emcee for the celebration Tuesday evening. He feels it is important, as the country’s World War II veterans continue to age, to record their experiences before it’s too late. The chronicling project began in the fall.
“These guys are national treasures,” Rendon said, adding that about 1,000 World War II veterans die each day across the U.S. “We want to capture as much as we can because, with all due respect, we’re running out of time.”
Smith was grateful for Rendon and Poe for bringing veterans together Tuesday, and for working on the project to chronicle their World War II experiences. Smith already met with Rendon to record his story, he said.
“I think it’s worthwhile,” Smith said of the project. “If you don’t capture it now, you’re not going to get it.”
Poe, a self-proclaimed “history buff,” said he has gotten more out of the veterans’ interviews than he ever did in any textbook.
“I’m learning more about the war now than I ever did before,” he said.
Rendon works regularly with veterans and told the group at Starkville Cafe Tuesday he realizes how traumatic war can be. He bases his interview questions off military paperwork he asks veterans to bring to the shoot.
“Some of you guys went through hell and back when you were over there,” Rendon said. “If you don’t want to talk about those experiences, we’re not going to force it out of you.”
World War II veterans who want to share their stories can contact Rendon at 662-325-6720.
