06/22/2026
Michael A. Smith
United States Army
Buck Sergeant
Peace Time Service
Michael was born on August 31, 1934. After high school, he enlisted in February 1954, toward the end of the Korean War, to attend school and avoid being drafted. After a difficult basic training, he attended a yearlong school in El Paso, Texas, focusing on electronics and electrical operations for the Nike missile system, an anti-aircraft missile system. He completed his training with a practice shoot at Red Sands, New Mexico, where his team successfully tracked and fired at a target.
His first assignment was a temporary station in Stanton, California. He was scheduled for a battery in Detroit, Michigan, but he swapped with another soldier who wanted to be near home. While waiting for the transfer to process, he performed MP duty at a prison for about a month. He spent approximately 9 months in Stanton while the LA-12/13/14 defense cluster site was under construction.
He then moved to a permanent site, LA-70, in Playa del Rey, California. This was a permanent station located near a school and the beach. Because of the local terrain, the radar antennas were mounted on 30-foot towers, requiring Michael to climb ladders to perform maintenance. This site is part of the LA Airport today.
Michael spent the remainder of his three-year service maintaining the Nike system at the Playa del Rey site. His primary responsibility was the maintenance and calibration of three radars (two acquisition and one surveillance) and an analog computer. After his three-year enlistment, Michael was honorably discharged in February 1957.
