Earle Covington Smith
Smith
Earle Covington
DE
World War, 1914-1918
Army
7th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division
Captain
Baltimore, Maryland; Sandy Hook Proving Ground, New Jersey; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming; France
No
Veteran
"There were so many bad odors around that I had to watch the gas sentries from sounding unnecessary alarms." (Memoir, page 43)
Trained as an engineer, Captain Earle Covington Smith anticipated the US entrance into the war in 1917, requesting a commission in the Ordnance Officers Reserve Corps. After a stint as a proof officer, during which he tested various brands of ammunition, he was transferred to France, where he eventually became a gas officer. In his diary, he made notes on such topics as the chemical makeup of particular toxic gases, the construction of hand grenades, and how to remove mustard gas from the skin. Along with his diary, his memoir provides a glimpse into the role played by chemical warfare during World War I. Serving as an "official nose," he worked to make sure that soldiers were properly equipped with functional gas masks and that they were able to recognize different gases and identify the start of an attack. As he relates, the smell of death on the battlefield was so strong that it sometimes led to false alarms.
Page from Earle Smith's diary [detail]
World War I Remembered: Diaries and Memoirs
Proof Officers Hand-Book 156 Mobile Artillery Ammuntion: WWI memoirs of Earl C. Smith
Proof Officers Hand-Book 156 Mobile Artillery Ammuntion: WWI memoirs of Earl C. Smith
American Expeditionary Forces Casual Officers' Camp Angers: Notice To All Casual Officers
American Expeditionary Forces Casual Officers' Camp Angers: Notice To All Casual Officers
Special Orders, No. 53-0 War Department, Washington [3/5/1919]
Special Orders, No. 53-0 War Department, Washington [3/5/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Embarkation Orders o. 14 France [1/14/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Embarkation Orders o. 14 France [1/14/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 225 France [10/23/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 225 France [10/23/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply J/BJB Special Orders No. 256 France [11/23/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply J/BJB Special Orders No. 256 France [11/23/1918]
From: The Adjutant General of the Army: Change of Station [2/27/1919]
From: The Adjutant General of the Army: Change of Station [2/27/1919]
From: the Ordnance Office, Technical Staff. To: The Ordnance Office, Administration Division, Military Personnel Section. Attention Captain Dodge [2/27/1919]
From: the Ordnance Office, Technical Staff. To: The Ordnance Office, Administration Division, Military Personnel Section. Attention Captain Dodge [2/27/1919]
Captain Earle C. Smith free from any infectious or communicable disease. Casual Officers' Camp District of Angers [1/30/1919]
Captain Earle C. Smith free from any infectious or communicable disease. Casual Officers' Camp District of Angers [1/30/1919]
Headquarters U.S. Troops. Angers, France, Special Orders No. 31 [1/30/1919]
Headquarters U.S. Troops. Angers, France, Special Orders No. 31 [1/30/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces A.E.F. France Captain E.C. Smith is physically qualified for transportation [2/7/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces A.E.F. France Captain E.C. Smith is physically qualified for transportation [2/7/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Service of Supply. Office of Headquarters Conandant Special Orders No. 139 [11/16/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Service of Supply. Office of Headquarters Conandant Special Orders No. 139 [11/16/1918]
General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces Special orders, No. 238. France [8/26/1918]
General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces Special orders, No. 238. France [8/26/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply. Special Oderss No. 70. France [5/21/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply. Special Oderss No. 70. France [5/21/1918]
Headquarters U.S. Troops, Angers France. Special Orders No. 31. [1/30/1919]
Headquarters U.S. Troops, Angers France. Special Orders No. 31. [1/30/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No.223. France [10/21/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No.223. France [10/21/1918]
General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces. Special Orders No.242. France [8/30/1918]
General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces. Special Orders No.242. France [8/30/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 201. France [1/7/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 201. France [1/7/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 206. [10/3/1918]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply Special Orders No. 206. [10/3/1918]
Engineering Division Tests and Proving Ground Administration. You are directed to proceed to Bourges Proving Grounds [10/3/1918]
Engineering Division Tests and Proving Ground Administration. You are directed to proceed to Bourges Proving Grounds [10/3/1918]
Headquarters Post of Brest (Casual Office) U.S. Army Post Office No. 716. Travel Order No. 3578. [2/7/1919]
Headquarters Post of Brest (Casual Office) U.S. Army Post Office No. 716. Travel Order No. 3578. [2/7/1919]
Headquarters Eight Corps. Area Office of the Chemical Warefare Office Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Subject: Training of Reserve Officers, B.A. Group [1/20/1925]
Headquarters Eight Corps. Area Office of the Chemical Warefare Office Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Subject: Training of Reserve Officers, B.A. Group [1/20/1925]
Letter from R.C. Sahlin 2nd Lt Corps of int. Hqrs 3rd Div. A.E.F. [1/30/1919]
Letter from R.C. Sahlin 2nd Lt Corps of int. Hqrs 3rd Div. A.E.F. [1/30/1919]
Letter from H. Meugnier, Paris [12/9/1918]
Letter from H. Meugnier, Paris [12/9/1918]
Biographical Information compiled by Earle Edward Spamer, great-nephew of Earle C. Smith [4/2003]
Biographical Information compiled by Earle Edward Spamer, great-nephew of Earle C. Smith [4/2003]
Bound Hand Written Diary of Chemical Warefare School of Earle C. Smith
Bound Hand Written Diary of Chemical Warefare School of Earle C. Smith
Ordance Technical Section Proving Ground and Ordnance Ammuniton School-American E.F. Boures(Cher) France [Christmas 1918]
Ordance Technical Section Proving Ground and Ordnance Ammuniton School-American E.F. Boures(Cher) France [Christmas 1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: Terms of the Armistice [11/12/1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: Terms of the Armistice [11/12/1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: Summary of Paris Press Headings [11/13/1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: Summary of Paris Press Headings [11/13/1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: American Official Communique No. 197 [11/11/1918]
Ordance Daily Bulletin: American Official Communique No. 197 [11/11/1918]
Casual Officers' Camp, District of Angers : Camp Regulations [1/12/1919]
Casual Officers' Camp, District of Angers : Camp Regulations [1/12/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply France: Embarkation Orders No. 14 [1/14/1919]
American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Services of Supply France: Embarkation Orders No. 14 [1/14/1919]
Auto-Cyclist Map of Area Paris Northeast Section
Auto-Cyclist Map of Area Paris Northeast Section
Relief map of Southwest of Neufchateau, France
Relief map of Southwest of Neufchateau, France
Map "Front au Fer Octobre 1917"
Map "Front au Fer Octobre 1917"
Relief map of west of Reims
Relief map of west of Reims
Map "Lizy-Sur-Ourcq'
Map "Lizy-Sur-Ourcq'
Map of Bourgogne, France
Map of Bourgogne, France
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.12817/
DLC-AFC
2021-12-02
loc.natlib.afc2001001.12817