Martin Fernard Smith – Private, United States Army, Member of Congress

Courtesy of the U.S. House of Representatives

Representative from Washington; born in Chicago, Ill., May 28, 1891; attended the public schools, Lewis Institute, Chicago, Ill., and Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.; moved to Hoquiam, Wash., in 1911 and completed law studies commenced in Chicago; was admitted to the bar in 1912 and commenced practice in Hoquiam, Wash.; served as municipal judge of Hoquiam 1914-1917; during the First World War served as a private in the Coast Artillery Corps from October 9, 1918, to December 15, 1918; member of the city council 1926-1928; mayor of Hoquiam 1928-1930; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1933-January 3, 1943); chairman, Committee on Pensions (Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936; appointed a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Justice Department, on April 1, 1943, and served until his resignation on April 29, 1944; unsuccessful candidate in 1944 for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator; appointed special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States on September 26, 1944, and served until his death in Bethesda, Md., October 25, 1954; interment in Arlington National Cemetery.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard