Randall Smith Spanish Civil War Correspondence

Randall (Pete) Smith (1917-1989) was born in Pennsylvania to a family whose roots lead back to Colonial America. For generations, both sides of his family lived and worked on farms in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey region, but his parents broke that tradition by becoming doctors (both in general practice and obstetrics). The Smith family settled in South Fork, PA and later moved to Warren, Ohio. Smith had a brother, Mike, and two sisters, Margaret and Isabel. He graduated from Harding High School in Warren, Ohio then moved to New York City where he befriended members of the Communist Party. He became a party organizer in Ohio for a brief time and at the age of 21 joined the fight in Spain. Smith sailed to France on the President Roosevelt in March of 1937 and arrived in Spain in July of 1937 via the Pyrenees. He was an ambulance driver with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade while stationed at various sites throughout the country, including Barcelona, Albacete and the region of Catalonia. Smith was wounded twice, the second time at the battle at the Ebro River, and returned to the United States in December 1938 after recovering from his second injury. In 1976, Smith organized a historical commission under the auspices of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for the purposes of gathering and preserving archives, oral histories, and graphic material related to veterans of the Spanish Civil War.

Smith married upon his return from Spain, and lived in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. He worked as a longshoreman with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), volunteered for the Merchant Marines during World War II, and joined the National Maritime Union (NMU). After holding various jobs in the Los Angeles area, he received his MBA degree from UCLA. Smith worked for various companies as a marketing executive and retired from the Edison Electric Institute in New York City.