Noel Claxton Smith, 92, of Pocahontas, died on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 in the Randolph County Home, where after a long battle, illness overcame him. Born on November 27, 1920, on the farm, in Birdell, Arkansas, he was the 5th of 12 children born to Clarence and Blanche (Stinnett) Smith. Four of the twelve preceded him in death along with his father and mother, his first wife Edna Lee and his daughter Kerry Vonne as well as his great-great-grandson Corban. He is survived by his wife Katheryn, his son Dennis and his wife Reta of Jonesboro, grandchildren; Clark (Rebecca) Hackney, Brian (Jamie) Hackney, Andrea (Randy) Todd, Deni (Troy) Smith, Shannon (Skip) Elders: great-grandchildren; Chelsea, Savannah, Chandler, Christian, Carson, Tyler, Darcy, Peyton, Sawyer, Jordan, Taylor, Dakota, Tommy, Kennedy. He is also survived by his brothers, Buel of Searcy, Rupert and Don of Michigan, Mason of Rogers, and Warren of Pocahontas; his sisters Vivian Portell of Kansas, and Hazel Rideout of Michigan. Claxton worked all his life in and around Pocahontas with Baltz Hardware and Baltz Equipment Co. However, his real vocation was quail hunting when in season, and he was very good at it. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in June of 1944, received training at Fort Riley, KS, shipped out to Fort Mead, MD, boarded the Queen Mary and crossed to LeHarve, France and assigned to 6th CAV and RECON SQ of the US 3rd Army. He was involved in some of the action in WWII which is worthy of note. In the latter stages of the war, Adolph Hitler made a desperate gamble that his forces could turn away the American Army with a surprise offensive that came to be called the Battle of the Bulge. His forces knew early success in this offensive, the result of which was the surrounding of the American Army at Bastogne (Belgium)at Christmastime 1944. Relief came for them in the form of the US 3rd Army under the command of General George S. Patton, one of whose troops was Noel C. Smith, Sgt. 6th CAV RCN SQ. The final defeat of the German army after the battle, was accomplished by an event which was later made into a film called "Bridge at Remegan". This was the action of saving the bridge from German destruction so that the US Army could take their heavy equipment across the Rhine River. The reconnaissance for this event was done by 2 GI\u0027s, one of which was Sgt. Noel C. Smith. He came home with a victory ribbon, 2 overseas bars and 3 battle stars. Tom Brokaw wrote a book called "The Greatest Generation", Claxton was one of those of whom he spoke. Funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, January 06, 2013 in the Chapel of McNabb Funeral Home with Jon Fears officiating. Burial will follow in Masonic Cemetery. Visitation will be held prior to service from 2-3 p.m.