Larry Smith
Photo by Eddie Adams

Larry Smith was born in Central Lake, Michigan, in 1940. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English in 1962 and began his newspaper career on The Wyoming Eagle in Cheyenne. He subsequently worked as a reporter and editor with five newspapers, including The New York Daily News and The New York Times. He joined Parade Magazine in 1981, serving as Managing Editor there for 19 years. His novel, The Original, was published by in 1972. A stark tale of rural tragedy, it received excellent reviews and was favorably compared to Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Smith has written a number of articles for Parade, including interviews with President Violetta Chamorro of Nicaragua and Carlos Salinas of Mexico. His July 4, 2000, interview with nine Medal of Honor recipients led to his oral history, Beyond Glory, Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words (2002). The book features first-person accounts by six recipients from World War II, seven from Korea and 11 from Vietnam, including Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and former Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska. Beyond Glory was adapted into an acclaimed one-man show featuring the noted actor Stephen Lang, which concluded on Memorial Day 2004. A former president of the Overseas Press Club of America, Smith is also a member of the Explorer’s Club. He is at work on a book about the Marine Corps.

His son met and led me to a basement entrance, explaining that he and his father had been sitting down there watching a movie called "Anzio" with Robert Mitchum, on the VCR. I remembered the picture and, as I entered a room crammed with memorabilia and clay sculptures, I said, "How's the movie, Mr. Millett?" And he replied, "Pretty good. I was there, you know."

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