Captain Gerald L. Smith attended the University of New Hampshire from 1941-1943, majoring in Agricultural Education. He joined the Army Reserves in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps from 1943-1947. During the first year, he completed pilot training as a second lieutenant and was assigned to B-26 bomber training. Five months later, he was actively flying missions in the Mediterranean Theater, Sardinia, and Corsica. As a member of the 320th Bomb Group, he participated in 27 missions and checked out as a first pilot. Captain Smith was flying in a B-26 bomber above the Italian Alps in 1944, when he and five other Americans were shot down by enemy forces. Captain Smith was one of the only three airmen to survive. He managed to bail out, but landed within 50 yards of enemy anti-aircraft guns; he was captured even before he could remove his parachute. After two months of hospitalization, he began prisoner-of-war marches through Austria and southern Germany. He was held captive for 181 days before being liberated by General George Patton’s 3rd Army in 1945. After a stay in military hospitals, he returned to UNH to complete his Bachelor Degree in 1948, graduating Cum Laude.
He became a UNH instructor of Applied Farming in 1948, earned his Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education from Pennsylvania State College in 1951, and returned to teach two more years of Applied Farming at UNH. From 1953-1980, he served at UNH as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor in Animal Husbandry and as an Animal Sciences/Extension Livestock Specialist. In addition, he served as the President and Vice President of the Northeast Section, American Society of Animal Sciences. During those two years, he also held the director position on its National Board. He retired at UNH in 1980, Associate Professor Emeritus.
Gerry Smith has given a piece of his life, and history, to the UNH Library. He donated a nearly complete collection of the American Ex-POW Bulletin to the Diamond Library. This rare collection of monthly newsletters offers one of the most realistic and painful views of life behind enemy lines.
Gerry Smith was a member and chairman of the Oyster River Coop School District School Board. From 1982-1991, he also served in many executive positions including President and Board of Directors, Eastern States Exposition, NH Trustees.
He served from 1991-1997 on the UNH Alumni Board of Directors, and he co-chaired the committee that produced Thy Sons and Daughters Ever, a history of the UNH Alumni Association. This year, Gerry Smith was honored with the UNH Alumni Meritorious Service Award.
For outstanding service to education, the University of New Hampshire, and the Army Air Corps; Captain Gerald L. Smith is inducted into the ROTC Hall of Fame.
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