Harold F. Smith’s Navy Cross citation

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to

Harold Francis Smith

Boatswain’s Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

for exceptional courage, presence of mind, and devotion to duty and disregard for his personal safety while serving on board the Battleship U.S.S. ARIZONA (BB-39), during the Japanese attack on the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941. After the U.S.S. ARIZONA had been ordered abandoned, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Smith unhesitatingly made repeated trips in a motor launch between her and an air station landing, carrying wounded, despite heavy bombardment and strafing, and blazing oil on the water, thereby saving many lives that would otherwise have been lost. The conduct of Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Smith throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.