After enlisting in the Army as an airborne infantryman in January of 1967, TC quickly realized that he wasn’t fond of snakes and jumped at the opportunity to attend flight school. After graduation, he was assigned to Vietnam as an Army helicopter pilot. Thomas “TC” Smith recalls the moment that his life changed.

 

“We used to fly reconnaissance missions. We were flying at a low level and our job was to spot a target, throw out a smoke grenade to mark the target, and then get out of the way to bring the gunships in. It was probably 6:30 at night, still light out, and we made a high-speed pass and shot the place up to see who would fire back. Our command-and-control aircraft wanted us to go back in there and assess the damage that the gunships did. I remember telling them ‘I don’t think they hit the target’. They still wanted us to go back in and we got fired up with 43 direct hits, one of which struck me in the leg,” TC recalled. 

 

The bullet he took to the leg broke his knee in three places. His wife was just finishing her junior year at Radford University and had no idea what had just taken place in Vietnam. He was able to only contact her once he reached a hospital in Japan. 

 

“I told her, ‘I’m coming home’ and her immediate reaction was ‘What happened?’ and I said ‘I got shot’. I had to explain to her that it wasn’t life-threatening and that I was okay. She didn’t believe me,” TC said. 

 

TC was brought back to the United States after undergoing stabilization surgery in Japan. Once back on U.S. soil, he was transitioned to Walter Reed Hospital, where he began the road to recovery and was reunited with his wife. An orthopedic surgeon told him that if the bullet had gone a millimeter higher, he would have lost his leg. TC was at Walter Reed Hospital for about four months. 

For his injury, he was awarded a Purple Heart. A Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving in combat. 

 

TC is now the commander for the Williamsburg chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The organization brings together folks of all branches and wars who also have received a Purple Heart. They raise money to give back to veterans, active duty military and their families, but it truly remains a place for camaraderie amongst Purple Heart recipients 

 

“We’re really all about being there for each other. I’ve met some amazing people with incredible stories. We have an eternal bond and we stick together. Yes, we raise money, yes, we give it away, but that is part of our service. We really meet because we understand each other,” TC said. 

 

He is proud to be a veteran and if his country called on him to this day, TC would return to the Army in a heartbeat. 

 

“Knowing at the end of the day that I served my country, I did something for my country; it’s a sense of pride to be able to say, I did that.” 

  

If you are a Purple Heart recipient, and would like to learn more about the organization, contact T. C. Smith at tcsmith3@aol.com.