Editor's note: On Monday, July 13 Warren County its last surviving WWII veteran with the passing of Charles Smith at the age of 101. The staff of the Main Street Journal and Main Street Media is thankful for Mr. Smith's service and extends our thoughts and prayers to his family. In honor of his service, MSJ is proud to republish a previous article about Smith from March 2026.

Charles Smith, 101, honored for WWII service

Sunday, March 8, 2026

An American hero was recognized, and a bit of living history was celebrated Sunday afternoon at the Webb House in McMinnville. 

Webb House resident Charles Smith, who turned 101 Jan. 18, was the guest of honor at a gathering of family and friends along with representatives from the U.S. Navy Recruiting Station in Murfreesboro.

“He is a World War II veteran, and someone from the Navy found out he is still living,” Smith’s granddaughter Stacey McGregor Love said. “They wanted to come and honor him.”

The ceremony was led by Petty Officer First Class Scott Senter from the U.S. Navy Enlisted Recruiting office in Murfreesboro. He was accompanied by fellow member of the recruiting station, Chief Brandon Pearson.

Senter presented Smith with a Navy T-shirt, expressed appreciation on behalf of the Navy for Smith’s service and led a discussion with Smith about his experience serving during WWII.

Smith regaled the assembled crowd with stories of his service, saying he was originally drafted to the U.S. Army, but the Navy approached the Army in need of 177 recruits. Smith volunteered to make the switch to the Navy beach battalion, launching a military career which took him to Italy and France during WWII before then moving on to the Pacific Theater following Victory in Europe Day May 8, 1945.

“That wasn’t yesterday,” Smith said while attempting to recall details of his service, drawing laughter from the crowd. But he went on to convey in impressive detail his experiences, which included invading beaches and preparing them for the arrival of the Army and the heavy equipment which needed to be moved across the sandy beach.

When asked if he feared for his life when invading beaches at the age of 18, Smith said “We were young and didn’t think anything about it. We weren’t afraid of nothing.”

Notably, Smith was unknowingly at Saipan just across the bay from Tinian Island as it temporarily housed an atomic bomb before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The island was used as a site for the assembly and loading of the bombs before the historic attacks.

“If we don’t take the time to hear the stories, the stories are lost,” Senter said. “Once they leave us, that’s it. Unless they pass the stories down, we lose those stories forever. It has been an honor to do this.”