In the Summer 2018 issue of UHQ, Kenneth L. Alford approaches WWI through the life of Calvin S. Smith, a Salt Lake City man who had the unusual circumstance of being the son of Joseph F. Smith, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and one of three chaplains provided by the LDS church. Smith was one of ten chaplains who served the “Wild West Division” and had charge of all LDS men in the division. Although Smith had no formal training as a chaplain, he proved adept at the task, working hard to provide stateside soldiers at Camp Lewis with what respite he could and going “over the top” himself at the front.
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- A December 19, 1896, photograph of Calvin Smith with some of his brothers and half-brothers. Back row: Calvin, Elias, Willard, Franklin; on bench: Andrew, Jesse, Samuel; front: James. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Chaplain Calvin S. Smith’s American Expeditionary Forces Identity Card, which he carried during the war. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Chaplain Calvin S. Smith’s metal helmet which still shows the green pine tree emblem on the front representing the Ninety-First Division. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- This February 26, 1918, Western Union Telegram formally notified Calvin S. Smith of his appointment as a chaplain in the Ninety-First Division and ordered him to report to Camp Lewis, Washington. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- This photograph showing the temporary headquarters (during October and November 1918) for the Ninety-First Division near Roulers, Belgium. Chaplain Calvin S. Smith took the photo with a small Kodak camera that he carried with him throughout his military service in Europe. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Calvin S. Smith (second row, third from left) is shown with LDS missionaries serving in the Swiss and German Mission (circa 1910). Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- After the Armistice ending WWI, Chaplain Smith attended three months of schooling in England. He is pictured here (in uniform) with LDS church leaders in England. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- The Calvin and Lucile Smith family, circa 1956. Calvin sits in the middle. His wife, Lucile, is to his left, and his mother, Mary, is to his right. This photo was printed in the October 1962 Relief Society Magazine honoring Lucile’s selection as “Utah Mother of 1962.” Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Lucile Dimond married Calvin Smith in September 1917, just six months before he began serving as an Army chaplain in WWI. Courtesy of Brent Rabe.
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- A photo taken by Calvin S. Smith of a Belgian windmill, with American soldiers on the stairs. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Chaplain (First Lieutenant) Calvin S. Smith’s Ninety-First Division round “dog tag.” Dog tags, such as this, were issued to soldiers in 1918. “N.A.” is an abbreviation for “National Army.” Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family
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- Chaplain Smith holding the American flag and regimental colors of the 362 Infantry Regiment, part of the Ninety-First Division. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- This photograph of Chaplain Calvin S. Smith was taken shortly after the war’s end and is addressed “To Mother.” Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- This photo of Chaplain Calvin S. Smith in uniform shows his first lieutenant rank insignia and the pine tree cloth patch of the Ninety-First Division. Note also that no name tags were worn. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Calvin S. Smith served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany, and learned to speak fluent German, in the years immediately preceding World War I. This photo was taken in 1910. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.
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- Calvin S. Smith in the 1950s. Courtesy Calvin S. Smith family.