 Lee, We Hale. From New York City, where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station to bring you this story as proudly We Hale, the United States Army. Do you know a man named Johnny Smith? Well, it's an ordinary enough name, probably do. But if it's the same Johnny Smith we're talking about, then you know the world's greatest celebrity, because our Johnny Smith is the man who won the war. Our first act in just a moment, but now I want to bring a really important message to the recent high school graduates of America. By volunteering for the Army, you will have the opportunity to qualify for one of many different types of specialized training. The chances are the type of technical training you've always wanted is one of those open to high school graduates. For instance, you might qualify for Army training in electricity, surgical, medical, or hospital technician procedures, automotive repair, or one of many others. And don't forget, even while learning, you will receive regular pay. Yes, high school graduates, find out what technical training the Army has to offer you now. Ask at your nearest United States Army recruiting station. Get all the facts on the world's finest technical courses. Be big. Be Army. And now, your United States Army presents the proudly we hail production, The Man Who Won the War. I would say that the men in my outfit are a pretty average bunch. I guess it's a group they look and talk and they think just about the same way any men wouldn't any training company anywhere in the Army. We've got our comedian. We've got our genius. We've got us a city slicker from Brooklyn, a car park in Yankee from Boston, and a U-all Rebel from South Carolina. One fella's old man owns a bank in Iowa and another fella dug the ditches for a pipeline in Texas. One guy was the champion high school debater of the state of Kansas. Another drove a bus in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We've got us a company of a couple hundred men, which means that we have a couple hundred individual opinions on everything under the sun from girls to baseball. But one thing each of them haven't come. They're in the Army and they're learning how to be soldiers. But that's really not the story I had in mind to tell you. All right, I've got 15 years in and I could sit here and talk about the advantages the Army has to offer all day and half the night. So don't get me started. What I did want to shoot the breeze about is my favorite story, and the way I told it to some of the guys just the other night when a group of us were sitting around in the company day room. I was writing a letter when I happened to be distracted by a conversation being held by a couple of the fellas. Didn't you see this picture last night, Joe? It was pretty good. Yeah, I was going to go except it's a war picture and I figured, ah, I'd give them enough of the Army all day. Well, this was about the British Army. It's about this colonel who sneaks into Germany during the last war and steals a copy of the general staff plan. Just like that, huh? Well, the way they work it out in a picture, it could have happened. As a matter of fact, it was supposed to have happened. They said it's based on a true incident. Sure. That's what they said, so... so because of this guy, we won the war. Yeah, I saw a picture something like that once only, uh, this was about an American officer who stole the plan. I'd say one thing about that German general staff, they were sure careless about those battle plans. You know, anyone could have walked in and swiped them. Hey, Sarge, did you see the picture last night? No, but I heard about it. You think it could have been true? Well, I've seen a lot of pictures and I've read a lot of stories about guys who did things that were supposed to have won the war. Have them have happened? Maybe, I don't know. But, uh, you fellas are interested. I can tell you about the guy who won the last war for us. What do you mean, Sarge? Hey, who was this guy? What'd he do? You mean one guy who won the war? This guy got it here. Yeah, yeah, this guy won the war, all right. And I don't see how anybody can take it away from him, either. He was a guy in my outfit. His name was, uh, Johnny Smith. Well, how come they never wrote a book or did a movie about him? How come nobody knows about him? Yeah, it's just one of those things, I guess. Hey, you wouldn't be pulling the legs of a couple of innocent recruits here, now. Would you, Sarge? Cross my heart. This guy's name was Johnny Smith and he won the war. He was the guy. And I was there so I can tell you. Let me see, let me see, let me see. We would have to go back to 1942. I guess he was 20 years old, man. We, uh, we were in South Carolina training with an infantry division. We were getting ready to shove off for overseas. We were going to be in on the invasion of Sicily, but we didn't know that at the time. I was a machine gun squad leader and Johnny was my first gunner. Never forget the night I really spoke to him for the first time. We'd, uh, we'd had a pretty rough day out in the field. Most of the guys got their weapons and equipment cleaned, they showered up and took off for town or for the post-movie. I happened to be walking past the supply room after Chow and there was Johnny kneeling on the ground. In front of him was the machine gun completely stripped down and he was putting it together again. What are you, what are you doing, John? Oh, I'm, uh, practicing getting this bolt apart and together again. I want to make sure I can do it with my eyes closed. That's what we were doing all day. Yeah, I know. I just want to make sure I really understand it. I do now. You know, it's funny. A year ago I never even saw a machine gun, except maybe in the movies. Now I know so much about it. If it didn't exist, I could invent it. Let me put this bolt back in. Hey, wait a minute. Why can't I pull the trigger? You forgot to adjust the headspace. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, I still haven't got it down to where it's as automatic as walking or breathing or driving a car. I still have to think about what I'm doing. That's bad. John, I tell you, there's only because it's common knowledge. You're considered the best gunner in the platoon. Well, I better be. I mean, don't get me wrong, Sarge. I'm not out for credit or anything like that. I had just better be a crackerjack machine gunner. That's all. Well, you are. And you've been at it all day. So why don't you clean up and go in the orderly room and get your pass? Go to town. What town? My town is 500 miles from here. Oh, boy, I'd like to be back there again. And I will. The sooner all this is over. You look to me like you're trying to win the whole war all by yourself. Well, maybe it does amount to that. We got to do it, so let's go and get it over with. I'll tell you one thing, Sarge. His gun is ready. When you talk about your good, smart soldier, Johnny Smith was the type of guy you had in mind. He knew his job. He knew my job. He knew everyone's job in the outfit. When the call came to send a reliable man on any kind of mission or assignment, you would automatically pick Johnny. The way he handled his weapon, the way he wore his uniform, the way he worked with his equipment, you would think here was a guy who was born to be a soldier. But that's where you were wrong. A year before he got into the Army, soldiering was the farthest thing from Johnny Smith's mind. Let's go there. Let's go. Let's go. See how he dug it. You've got to make a shelf for yourself. You've got to be underneath something in case the enemy starts lobbing mortage shells in on you. Here, Kennedy, let me give you a hand. He's got two hands of his own. I had to pick and a shovel. There may come a day when I'll have to use them fast. Well, I guess I'm all finished, Sarge. Anything else you want me to do? No, take five. Smoke a cigarette. I hear we're, uh, going overseas soon, Sarge. Yeah, I guess it isn't any secret. I always wanted to see Europe. I never figured I'd see it just this way. What did you do before you got into the Army, Johnny? I was a salesman. I sold building supplies. Yeah, you know, just six months before I enlisted, I got a terrific job. 30 bucks a week. I could even think of getting married. Did you have the girl? Oh, I still got the girl. Yes, sir. We get this little hassle over with. I go back to good old standard building supplies, and I'll marry Marsha. It could be a long war. Oh, no. Not if I got anything to say about it. Well, uh, pardon me for asking, but just what does an infantry private first class have to say about it? Everything, Sarge. Believe it or not. Just about everything. I didn't realize what he was talking about. But, of course, he was right. He made a believer out of me just a few short months later. We were no longer in training stateside. We were now in Italy. I had heard Italy referred to as sunny Italy, but there was nothing sunny about it that winter. We found ourselves in the coldest, wettest war any Army has ever had to fight. By this time, both Johnny and I both got ourselves a promotion. I had been up to a section leader, and Johnny had my old squad leader's job. Our battalion was mounting an attack across some rocky, hilly terrain, knee-deep in mud. Our platoon was back in reserve, ready to be rushed up to whichever rifle company needed us the most. Finally, I got the word from the company command post. Johnny! Adam! Get your squads and let's go! Should we load the jeep? No, no, good. It's an ocean of mud out there. There's only one halfway decent road and it's under artillery fire. You'll have to hand-carry the guns and the ammo. Everybody here? Yeah. Okay, okay, okay. Now, pay attention. We're going over that hill about a mile to my left. We're going to report E Company. Now, once we get there, third battalion's going to be on the right, G Company's going to be on the left. If you need more ammo, there'll be a supply and defilade a hundred yards from the slope away from the road. The aid station is to set up near the gully just behind the road. Now, have everybody got that? What's E Company doing right now? E Company is dividing its time between fighting and praying. There's a whole Jerry Regiment counterattacking along E Company's front. Let's get these heavy thirties up there. Move out! Lieutenant Peters! Sergeant! Jump in here, quick! I've been hot out here, sir. I never sweated so much on a winter's day in all of my life. Are your machine guns in position? Yeah, Lieutenant. We just dug in. You can hear them firing now. Lieutenant, my gunners need some of your riflemen to protect their flanks. I don't have anybody. I'm as specked out too thin as it is. Sergeant, we're like a pat of butter for a whole loaf of bread. I understand that, sir, but if the Jerry's break through any part of your front, my men will be like sitting ducks. I'll have to pull back. We can't any of us pull back, Sergeant. Our orders are to hold this position. If the Jerry's get through here, they can sack up the whole regiment. I'm asking and asking for reinforcements, but same things are rough all over. What are you laughing at, Sergeant? Oh, I don't know, sir. Just that I look at our situation out here, I think of how it's supposed to be in the book. You couldn't call it a classic position, how could you, Lieutenant? No, we don't get too many of those in combat. Yeah, well, I better go back and check on my gunners, sir. Oh, be careful. Oh, and Sergeant? Sir? We've got the hole this position. If the Jerry's bust through here, they can roll up the flank of the whole regiment. I guess we'll hold it, sir, somehow. Hey, Sergeant. Yeah? I'm running low on ammo. Send two men back to the slope and pick some up. I did, I did. It's the wrong ammo. What do you mean? The cartridges aren't in belts for machine guns. They're in clips for M1 rifles. How much have you got left at your gun? About half a box, maybe a hundred rounds. Did you send someone over to the other gun to borrow some from Stevens? Stevens is down to his last belt, too. All right, send a man over to... No, no, no, no. You and I better do it. We'll have to get hold of some ammo somewhere. And move out slow. Keep on the ground until we get past that little rise. And then we can run for it. Now, this is where they were supposed to dump the ammo for us, Sergeant. Yeah, but there isn't any here. Hey, soldier. Hey, soldier, you seen any ammo for 30-caliber machine guns? Well, this is all they gave me to bring up, Sergeant. Well, go on back and get us some in a hurry. I can't start my jeep. I got a hit from a mortar in the radiator and the way up here. Sarge, what are we gonna do? The guns can't fire more than another five or 10 minutes what they've got now. Let's go back up to the line and cut over to the left where Sea Company is being supported by artillery. We'll borrow a couple of boxes of ammo from them. All right, now, we'll cut through these woods here. Sea Company should be on the other side. They must be just past the trees, Sarge. I hear a guy is digging. Sea Company must have got some reinforcements. The fellas must be digging new foxholes. Get the car, quick! Don't pull away that bush. Easy, easy. Look straight ahead. What do you see? Sarge. Those are Jerry's. They're keeping the ground. Turn around, keep to the bushes. Start moving back. Yeah, but this is Sea Company's position. What are the Jerry's doing here? What happened to Sea Company? Let's worry about that later. Right now, let's worry about what's gonna happen to you and me. Looking for heads down low, we got a little bit of cover. We won't take a chance around for it. Yeah, let's go. You are listening to the proudly we hail production, The Man Who Won the War. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. Young men of America, today's United States Army is comprised of skilled technicians and specialists who have learned their jobs in the world's finest military technical schools. And now the Army is offering you even greater opportunities to join this elite group of young men and serve your country and yourself at the same time. Your Army now has an operation, a training program that permits you to choose your own branch and train in the particular job of your own choice. It's called the Reserved for You training program, and it works this way. If you're a high school graduate of service age, you visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station and make application for the Reserved for You training program, stating your preferences of branch and training course. If you qualify and the vacancy exists, you're awarded a letter that guarantees you a reserved seat in the technical training course of your choice. Now all this takes place before you enlist and it places you under no obligation whatsoever. Then, after you enlist and have your basic training, you're enrolled in your school and begin your career as a highly skilled Army technician. We suggest you find out about it right away by visiting your nearest United States Army recruiting station and talking it over with the friendly people there. You'll see the many opportunities open in more than 150 courses, your chance to get valuable technical training and be paid while you learn. Get all the facts on your future and you'll know why we say this year more than ever before in the Army, you serve your country, and yourself. You are listening to Proudly We Hail, and now we present the second act of The Man Who Won the War. It's only human nature to look for heroes but those men whose courage or daring or imagination have shaped the great events of the world. So very much on this subject, Sergeant Ed Thompson is sitting around shooting the breeze with a few of the recruits in his training platoon. Sergeant Thompson declared that he personally knew the man who won World War II. It was a man named Johnny Smith who was a member of Thompson's platoon in Italy. The platoon was in a critical position. It was heavily outnumbered, cut off, and low on ammunition. Thompson and Smith have gone back to get some ammunition and have lundered into an advancing German unit. They managed to elude the enemy, but now they must decide on their next move. Should they try to go forward to the unit? Or should they fall back and try and find the rest of the battalion? The path in either direction is filled with difficulty and danger. Thompson is telling the story. Well, the gerry threw everything they had at us, but we managed to lose them in the woods. Hey, Sergeant, is this where this guy Smith won the war? Well, yeah. Yeah, you could say that. Yeah, but I can't see it. After all, it was just one fight. I mean, it was just a little part of a big battle going on in Italy. Well, what I mean is, what could he have done right then and there to have won the war? Well, in the first place, he didn't let anything bother him. At least not so you could see it. See, you have to remember, all bets were off. We had been given a certain plan of battle. All that was out the window. We didn't know who was on the left or who was on the right or where our supplies were. We knew our two machine guns were up a mile ahead and they needed ammo. We also knew they had to hold on or the whole regiment would be in for it. And we knew they were still there because we could hear the firing up ahead. And then all of a sudden, from the road which was just a couple of yards away, we heard a vehicle approaching. We looked out from behind a tree. It was a jeep from headquarters company. There was some ammo piled in the back. We ran out into the road. Hey, Chuck, where are you going? Hey, Sarge, what are you and Smitty doing here? The E Company get pushed back to? What do you mean to? Ah, Jerry's broke through Third Battalion. The F Company and C Company pulled back to the reserve position. The E Company was still holding out last we heard. Anyway, Captain sent me and Jackson up here with ammo. What are you doing here, Sarge? You got any machine gun ammo? Plenty. I'm supposed to dump it here, but I don't know what to do. The Jerry's might show up. We got to get that ammo up to the line, Sarge. Chuck, is the battalion going to counterattack? I heard the Colonel say they were getting ready. Half only E Company can hold out a little while longer. Get this ammo up there. They can hold out all day. We can't get the jeep through the woods, Chuck. You and Jackson will have to give us a hand. But can we get through the woods? Look, if the E Company is still holding out, all we'll run into is maybe a couple of snipers who might have infiltrated. Come on, each man grab a box. They need that ammo. Everybody okay, Johnny? Yeah. Chuck, Jackson? Yeah. That's the sniper, Sarge. I'll have to knock him up before we can move up. Okay, I'll try. Those shots came from off to the right. Yeah, I think he's working from behind that tree near that big rock. Attention, you guys. Leave the ammo boxes here. We'll spread out and surround that tree. Wait a minute. Hold it, Sarge. It won't work. Why not? Oh, we might get him, but it'll take us half an hour. If we're lucky, we can't let this one guy keep us pinned down. We have to move this ammunition up where it's needed. Listen, the three of you cover me. Maybe I could smoke him up. But you're not even sure where he is. All right, that makes us even. He won't be sure where I am either. I'm moving up, cover me. As soon as I draw his fire, sock it home to him. I'm going out. Hold it. Chuck, Jackson, be ready to fire. I'll watch the front. Jackson, you cover the left, Chuck, you watch the right. Okay, here I go. Watch you guys. Keep your eyes on every tree. If you see a bush moving, fire at it. Maybe you can see a flash of sunlight on a gun barrel. To the right. Where's the tenant, Peter? Hey, Thompson. Where you been? My machine gun is okay, sir. They ran out of ammo. I got him firing his rifle. Let me round him up, sir. We got ammunition. Move fast, Sarge. Jerry's almost rolled right over us last time. I do to call again almost any minute. Break over these boxes. Johnny, get some over to your gun. I'll bring the rest over to Stephen. Sarge and I don't mind telling you. This ammo's gonna save the day. We have a chance to hold him now. You did a great job. I'll say the man who really did it was Smith. If it weren't for him, we might have never made it back here in time. Yeah. Well, he sure won the war for us today. Get it off! Johnny, what's the matter with that gun? Why isn't it firing? Busted firing. Put it in a new boat, quick. Oh, wouldn't you know? Why? The spare parts kit is over at the other gun. I'll have to go over there and get it. 25 yards of fire to where the other gun was. Then he had to crawl back. The Jerry's were spraying us with small arms and mortar fire. Took him 20 minutes. He had the spare bolt and he flopped into the hole. Now I want to tell you, it's one thing to take the gun apart while you're in training, but there's a lot of difference if you try it while you're being shot at. But it didn't seem to make too much difference to Johnny. It was as though we were back home in the States and someone was standing over him with a stopwatch and he was trying for the record. Before I knew it, the old boat was out, the new one was in, and the gun was firing again. They attacked twice more and each time we'd beat him back. Finally, at the end of the afternoon, the battalion counterattacked and retook the positions they gave up earlier in the day. Let's see now. A couple of days after that, Johnny had a bad pain in his side. We sent him back to the aid station and from there he was sent further back where they found out he had an attack of appendicitis. Well, they operated on him and two months later he was back with the outfit. He didn't have to come back because they were willing to reassign them to a non-combat unit, but he wasn't having any. He wanted to come back to us. He did, and just in time for the invasion of Southern France. Well, excuse me, Sergeant, but what did this guy do that won the war? Yeah, did it happen in Southern France? Well, a lot of things happened, but it was pretty much the same as in Italy. One fight is pretty much like another. You go forward, you go back, and finally you go forward again. And after a while they tell you the war is over, and that's that. I'm just giving you an infantryman's eye a view of the thing. But, Sergeant, what about this guy, Johnny Smith? Just what was the thing he did that won the war? All right, so he made sure you got some ammo when you needed it. So you held one position, but if you'd have lost that position, would we have lost the war? Yeah. No question in my mind about that. Oh, come on, Sergeant. Have a heart. I don't think you guys were listening. No, I heard every word you said, Sergeant. Every position you hold counts. A war is made up of thousands of little positions. It gets down to who can take more of them. Yeah, that may be true, but still you... No, no, no, let me tell you something else. You asked me before where was Johnny Smith. I said I didn't know. The real reason I don't know is because there never was a guy named Johnny Smith. What? Hey, what kind of a yarn are you been spinning? Johnny Smith is just a name I used to cover a lot of guys who were in my office. Typical line outfit during the war. Johnny was a lot of guys. Guys who were doing a job that had to be done. Guys who didn't ask, hey, what happened? Where's the ammo? The enemy ain't supposed to be on the left. He's supposed to be on the right. They were guys who got the ammo, who cleaned out the sniper, took on the enemy no matter where he was. These were the guys who won the war, fellas. I know us infantry soldiers think we're hot stuff, and I don't take away any contributions any other outfit made. We needed it, but after all has been said and done, it gets down a guy's name, Johnny Smith, who digs foxholes. They have to make the final settlement with the enemy. Yeah, yeah, but I thought this guy did something big. Like what? Buddy, there's nothing bigger than fighting itself. You can swipe all the plans you want from the enemy high command. But unless the Johnny Smiths are doing their jobs, forget about winning any war. All right, I know what's bothering you guys. You want a movie, picked you a hero. Where do you find a bigger one than Johnny Smith? A guy who went around minding his business in civilian life who probably never held a gun in his hand. He becomes a soldier. He goes up against professionals from what everybody thought was the toughest army in the world. And Johnny holds his own, and he goes the enemy one better. Go ahead, top that. Yeah, you're right, Sergeant. It's just that nobody ever looks at it that way. Now, I've got a little flash for you, fellas. This is also on the level. If there's ever gonna be another war, I know the man who's gonna win it. Yeah? Who? You? At the sack, you guys, you've got a tough training day ahead of you tomorrow. High school graduates, can you top this? A worldwide organization is making this offer to high school graduates who possess a working knowledge of mathematics and a desire to use that knowledge. Listen, a 28 to 42 week technical course in electronics and guided missiles during which full pay and allowances are yours. The opportunity to increase the starting salary by more than four times within the first year after joining the organization. A 30 day vacation with pay the very first year and each year thereafter. A free $10,000 life insurance policy, work clothes and informal and formal wear furnished without cost as long as you stay with the organization, plus many other individual and family benefits. This organization is as modern as tomorrow, an organization with a future, and it offers that future to you. See your local United States Army recruiter soon about enlisting for Army and Aircraft Artillery. And this is only one field of the many open to today's Army men. Here's the way the United States Army's reserved for you plan works. There are more than 150 courses to choose from. Select to and file an application. If you're accepted, you'll receive a written guarantee from the Adjutant General of the Army or the Commanding General of the Training Division concerned. Then the decision is up to you. If you're interested, you enlist and are enrolled in the course of your choice. All this can be yours. You will have the written guarantee in your hands before you enlist. There are no hidden catches. You see the Army needs skilled technicians and this is their way to train the right people. This is your way to get excellent schooling for a role as a skilled technician. For complete information, visit your local United States Army Recruiting Station. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army. This is Ralph Roland inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.