Marker #1643 PFC David M. Smith

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David Monroe Smith sacrificed his life for five other men on September 1st, 1950. Smith was a part of Company E, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Smith was manning the mortar section for Company E during a battle in Yongsan, Korea. The mortar section was ordered to withdraw because of the overwhelming number of North Korean soldiers closing in. Smith spotted a grenade and flung himself onto the explosive as he shouted a warning to the others. Because Smith acted in that moment, five other men survived the blast. In honor of his heroic act, Smith was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Marker #1643 was dedicated in 1979 by the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Department of Transportation. It reads: PFC David M. Smith. Homesite of this Congressional Medal of Honor winner, born in Livingston, Ky., November 10, 1926. Church built here, 1974. Smith served with U.S. Army, Co. E, 9th Inf. Regt., 2d Inf. Div., during Korean Conflict. The honor was awarded Private Smith posthumously for his gallantry and outstanding courage in saving five men's lives near Yongsan, Korea. See over.
(Reverse) Medal of Honor Winner. During the Korean War, Pvt. Smith was a gunner in mortar section of Co. E and under attack in rugged mountainous terrain. Encircled by enemy, mortar section was unable to withdraw. Observing a grenade thrown near him, he threw himself on it to smother the explosion and saved the lives of five men. This display of valor cost him the supreme sacrifice, Sept. 1, 1950.