The Rev. Howell “Hal” Smallwood just recently celebrated his 90th birthday on Sept. 1.Hal Smallwood
Smallwood spent his career working in business management at Northeast Georgia Medical System and served as the Hall County Tax Commissioner.
Smallwood, a member of the Greatest Generation, also served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and was one of four brothers who served in the war and three are still living.
We recently caught up with Smallwood to ask him about his experiences from WWII:
Question: How long have you lived in Hall County?
Answer: “I was born in Jackson County and we moved to Hall County so I have been here all of my life except for the three years that I was in the Navy during WWII.”
Q: What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theatre?  
A: “I don’t remember the name. Some cowboy movie at the Ritz Theatre on Bradford St.”
Q: What former local business makes you the most nostalgic?
A: Smallwood laughed, “We didn’t go to shops. We didn’t have money.”
Q: When did you join the Navy?  
A: “I quit high school and joined voluntarily because I wanted to fight for our freedom. When I went to sign up there was an argument over my name because I only had one first name, no middle name. They said I had to have two first names. So, I asked what the name was of the guy standing next to me signing up. They told me Otha and so I said use that name. And they did.  Otha Howell Smallwood but my birth certificate just says Howell.
Q: Where were you deployed to in WWII?  
A: “The ocean. We never docked but we would get close enough to the shore to see the lights of the cities.”
Q: What years were you in the war and what was your job?
A: “October of 1943 until February of 1946,” he said. “I was a 40 mm gun operator, a part of the shakedown crew and then the last seven months I was a barber. That was the first time I ever saw electric clippers.”
Q: What do you remember about the end of the war?  
A: “We were on our way to invade Japan. I was in the first wave and remember thinking that I would never see my family again. There were ships as far as you could see. Then we got the radio call that the war was over. They told us to go back to New Orleans. When we got there we had an ‘Open House’ and anyone that wanted to could come aboard and tour the ship and eat.”  
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The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.