On 19 Dec 43 The 48th Highlanders of Canada made an attack on the strongly held village of SANTA ELENA (MR 307140).
As D Coy arrived on its objective, enemy machine guns, sited close by, opened fire on it. L/Cpl Smith spotted one of the machine guns about 70 yards away. without waiting to point out the target to his section machine gunner, he snatched up the gun him self, dashed forward in the face of heavy fire and rushed the position , firing from the hip.
The silencing of this enemy post, which was entirely due to the quick thinking, courage and dash of L/Cpl Smith, saved the company many casualties and helped it to maintain its position on the objective.
