WWII & Korean War Vet Frank Smothers celebrates 100 years of life and service
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) – Frank Smothers has spent a century watching the world change.
Along the way, he served his country in two wars, built a career as an Army engineer, raised a family and developed a lifelong love of reading.
Smothers celebrated his 100th birthday Monday, marking a milestone that gave his family an opportunity to reflect on the life he has lived and the lessons he continues to share.
Smothers served in both World War II and the Korean War. His path into the military started when he tried to join the Navy but was turned away because he was too young. About a year later, he was drafted.
“When the time came, they called me in and I had to go. And I went. I didn’t cry about it or anything like that. I just went ahead and went in there and did my duty,” Smothers said.
During his service, Smothers worked as an engineer and drove a bulldozer in combat. He remembers one moment when a bullet struck the blade of the bulldozer directly in front of him.
The bullet bounced off the blade, and Smothers was not hurt.
His military service also took him overseas. He was part of a ship carrying thousands of soldiers to the Philippines before eventually traveling to Korea.
For his daughter, Rachelle Siebert, her father’s military service has always been part of who he is… but so have the values he brought home.
Siebert said her father taught her the importance of respecting other people and the country, doing what is right even when it is difficult, and understanding the meaning of service and sacrifice.
“He’s my dad, but yet he’s always going to be a veteran. He’s always going to be my dad,” Siebert said.
Siebert said her father’s example also helped her understand the freedoms Americans have, including the ability to disagree with one another and express their opinions.
That idea of freedom is one Smothers believes younger generations can take away from his experience in the military.
“Only in America we have freedom to do what we want to do,” he said.
While much of Smothers’ life has been defined by service, another lifelong passion has been much quieter: reading.
He said his love of books began when he was about 10 years old. His grandmother kept a Bible in the living room, and Smothers picked it up and began reading.
He never stopped.
Smothers still considers reading his greatest hobby and often reads several books at the same time, moving between them as he goes.
At 100 years old, Smothers has a lifetime of stories behind him, from military service overseas to the simple routines and values that have stayed with him throughout the decades.
And for Siebert, his legacy isn’t defined only by the wars he served in or the milestones he has reached.
It is also found in the lessons he passed on to his family: respect others, do what is right and appreciate the freedom that so many have sacrificed to protect.
