{"id":26932,"date":"2025-08-11T18:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T18:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/?p=26932"},"modified":"2025-10-31T23:16:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T23:16:23","slug":"chapter-three-a-career-unfolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/magazine\/2025\/08\/11\/chapter-three-a-career-unfolds\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Three: A Career Unfolds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<div id=\"gap-260147408\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-260147408 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<div class=\"row row-collapse row-full-width align-equal\"  id=\"row-1909303128\">\n\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1555699559\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1541042204\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Richard_A_Smith_Peace_Corps_1961.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Richard_A_Smith_Peace_Corps_1961.jpg 624w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Richard_A_Smith_Peace_Corps_1961-217x300.jpg 217w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1541042204 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1757518290\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 170%;color: #faf7f7\">Multiply My Hands: The Life of Dr. Richard Smith<\/span><\/h3>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 75%;color: #faf7f7\" data-text-color=\"primary\">____________________<\/span><\/h1>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 170%;color: #faf7f7\">Chapter Three: A Career Unfolds<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 110%;color: #faf7f7\">From Tuba City to Adventures in the Peace Corps<\/span><\/h3>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 75%;color: #faf7f7\" data-text-color=\"primary\">____________________<\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 80%;color: #faf7f7\">Written by Erik Steen with Jim Wehmeyer<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 80%;color: #faf7f7\">Edited by Melanee Nelson<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 80%;color: #faf7f7\">MEDEX Northwest Communications<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<style>\n#row-1909303128 > .col > .col-inner {\n  background-color: rgb(0, 66, 89);\n}\n<\/style>\n<\/div>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1229707923\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1229707923 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t<section class=\"section\" id=\"section_531856744\">\n\t\t<div class=\"section-bg fill\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div class=\"section-content relative\">\n\t\t\t\n\n<p>As Dr. Richard Smith spread the morning newspaper across his desk at the Public Health Service Indian Hospital in Tuba City, Arizona, his eyes caught a headline about the Peace Corps\u2019 first volunteers heading overseas. It was July 1961, and President Kennedy\u2019s ambitious new program was quickly moving from concept to reality. Richard leaned back, the crisp paper crinkling in his hands as he read about the first teams preparing to depart for Ghana and Tanganyika. <em>Now this is interesting<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27379\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/US-PeaceCorps-Logo.svg_-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/US-PeaceCorps-Logo.svg_-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/US-PeaceCorps-Logo.svg_-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/US-PeaceCorps-Logo.svg_.png 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1222161635\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1222161635 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h1>The Path to the Peace Corps<\/h1>\n<p>The newspaper article traced the origins of the Peace Corps back to a late-night campaign speech that then Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy had delivered to students on the University of Michigan campus well after midnight on October 14, 1960. Kennedy challenged students to serve their country by working in developing nations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many of you who are going to be doctors,\u201d Kennedy had asked the crowd of students, \u201care willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. There is certainly a greater purpose, and I\u2019m sure you recognize it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27688\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27688\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27688\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-300x192.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-1024x654.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-1536x982.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/5161014673_600c92452c_o-2048x1309.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27688\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John F. Kennedy delivering speech at 2 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 14, 1960 at the University of Michigan on the steps of the Michigan Union. (Photo by University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, CC BY 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What had started as an impromptu campaign idea would in just months transform into a full-fledged government initiative with real people now answering that call.<\/p>\n<p>Richard had been practicing family medicine on the Navajo Indian Reservation for only a few weeks. The work was fulfilling, but reading about the Peace Corps stirred something in him. The Project 2-C he had proposed to the Episcopal Church had outlined the idea of teams of health professionals training local providers in developing countries. That vision had been deemed too radical by church leadership, yet here was Kennedy creating a program that embodied a similar spirit of international service.<\/p>\n<p><em>Finally, a way to put those ideas into action,<\/em> he thought. After years of rejection and skepticism, here was a program with the backing of the president himself that could bring medical expertise to communities that desperately needed it.<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks later, an unassuming manila envelope landed on his desk. He slit it open, revealing a flyer printed with bold, direct lettering: <em>\u201cU.S. Public Health Service Partners with Peace Corps: Medical Officers Needed.\u201d <\/em>It was an official appeal to doctors to join the Peace Corps effort, with the U.S. Public Health Service assuming responsibility for providing healthcare to the program\u2019s volunteers.<\/p>\n<p>Richard\u2019s pulse quickened as he read. It was a call for doctors to care for Peace Corps volunteers. Simple enough. But something tugged at him, a feeling he hadn\u2019t let himself entertain in a while. He wasn\u2019t sure what it meant or where it might lead. Just a quiet possibility that this might open a door.<\/p>\n<p>He filled out the enclosed postcard and mailed it the next morning. Five days later, the phone rang in his office. \u201cDr. Smith?\u201d It was the Peace Corps. \u201cCan you fly to Washington immediately? A ticket has been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, Richard stepped off a plane into the humid air of Washington, D.C. The capital buzzed with the energy of Kennedy\u2019s new administration, and as his cab pulled up to the Peace Corps offices\u2014just blocks from the White House\u2014Richard felt excitement building inside him. Ten minutes after walking through the doors, he found himself face-to-face with the dynamic first director of the Peace Corps, R. Sargent Shriver.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27713\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27713\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27713\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Shriver_double_Portrait-with-volunteers-300x129.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Shriver_double_Portrait-with-volunteers-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Shriver_double_Portrait-with-volunteers-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Shriver_double_Portrait-with-volunteers-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Shriver_double_Portrait-with-volunteers.png 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">R. Sargent Shriver (left), first director of the newly formed Peace Corps, addressing a group of Peace Corps volunteers (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shriver wasted no time. Leaning forward in his chair, his tone sharp with urgency, he got straight to the point. \u201cWe need you in Nigeria, Dick. The first Peace Corps volunteers are arriving there soon, and they\u2019ll need healthcare. When can you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question hit like a thunderclap. <em>When could I leave?<\/em> Richard thought, his mind scrambling for an answer. He hadn\u2019t even fully decided to join the Peace Corps, let alone prepared for a move to Nigeria. <em>When could I leave?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had been thinking about Colombia,\u201d Smith said finally, treading carefully. \u201cIt would give me a chance to improve my Spanish, which has been a personal goal for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarge nodded, though his expression remained intense. \u201cThat\u2019s great, Dick, but your country needs you in Nigeria. That\u2019s where you\u2019ll make the biggest impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The decision loomed, growing weightier by the second. How do you say no to Sarge Shriver, the brother-in-law of the President of the United States? And perhaps most importantly\u2014wasn\u2019t this exactly the kind of opportunity he\u2019d been seeking? A chance to develop his ideas about healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay,\u201d Richard said at last, his voice steady but edged with hesitation. \u201cI\u2019ll go, but only on the condition that you route me through Paris for a day or two. I\u2019ve got a close friend I\u2019d like to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shriver\u2019s eyebrows lifted slightly, but he didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cDone. How long will it take to pack up your house and family?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably two or three weeks,\u201d Richard said cautiously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need you in Nigeria in two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before Richard could object, Shriver turned to his assistant and began rattling off instructions: movers, flights, travel documents\u2014and that 48-hour stopover in Paris. \u201cGet it done,\u201d he said with finality.<\/p>\n<p>Stepping outside into the sticky D.C. air, Richard\u2019s head swam. <em>Two weeks. Can we even make this work?<\/em> He didn\u2019t have an answer, but the wheels were already in motion.<\/p>\n<p>Back in Tuba City, the Arizona desert stretched endlessly around him. But Richard\u2019s mind was racing. The magnitude of the decision\u2014and the breakneck speed of it all\u2014was overwhelming. When he told his wife, Parbattee, about the move, her reaction was calm but resolute. \u201cIf this is what needs to be done, we\u2019ll make it work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>There wasn\u2019t much time to dwell on logistics. Luckily, their boys Dirk and Rik\u2014just two and four\u2014were blissfully unaware of the chaos. For them, this was simply an adventure. For Richard and Parbattee, it was a leap into the unknown; one that would set their lives on an entirely new course.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1831209834\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1831209834 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>Paris &#8211; The First Mousse au Chocolat<\/h2>\n<p>Before long, Richard was on the phone with his old friend Michel Guernet in Paris. \u201cMichel, I\u2019ve got 48 hours in Paris before heading to Nigeria,\u201d he said. It had been twelve years since they\u2019d last seen each other. The two had first met when Michel was a foreign exchange student in Norwalk, Connecticut, during Richard\u2019s senior year of high school. Since then, Michel had returned to France to take over his father\u2019s air compressor factory in a small village outside Paris. Both men were thrilled at the chance to reconnect. \u201cI\u2019ll take good care of you,\u201d Michel said with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019ll show you my Paris\u2014and our families will finally meet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When their overnight flight from the East Coast landed at Orly Airport, Michel and his wife Claudine were waiting for them, arms open in welcome. Michel drove them straight to his mother\u2019s apartment, where the boys could play and rest for the day. From there, the four adults set off, refueling at a local caf\u00e9 with buttery croissants and strong coffee. Claudine chatted with Parbattee in a mix of French and broken English, the two women laughing despite the language barrier. Richard felt the warmth of the reunion and breathed in the aroma of fresh bread while the buzz of Parisian streets surrounded him. It was a much-needed pause before what lay ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next eight hours, Michel drove them around Paris in his gray Citro\u00ebn, the city unfolding before them like a dream. The landmarks\u2014the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacr\u00e9-C\u0153ur\u2014left Richard and Parbattee overwhelmed by their grandeur and historical importance. At Montmartre, amidst a lively throng of outdoor artists working the bustling crowds, they paused for an afternoon baguette and wine. The vitality of Paris was intoxicating, alive with culture, beauty, and energy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27734\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27734\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27734\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1-300x62.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1-300x62.png 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1-1024x212.png 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1-768x159.png 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1-1536x318.png 1536w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Paris-Pics-Combined_1960s-1.png 1565w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Among the early 1960s Paris locations enjoyed by Richard and Parbattee: Left: \u201cParis &#8211; Place de la Concorde\u201d (by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0); Middle: \u201cParis &#8211; Sacr\u00e9-Coeur\u201d (by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0); Right: \u201cParis &#8211; Boulevard des Capucines (1960)\u201d (by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0) 2. \u201cParis &#8211; Place de la Concorde\u201d by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0 3. \u201cParis &#8211; Sacr\u00e9-Coeur\u201d by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0 4. \u201cParis &#8211; Boulevard des Capucines (1960)\u201d by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They wandered through the Latin Quarter and rushed past the Sorbonne, taking in the intellectual heartbeat of the city. \u201cWe\u2019ll end our dinner with something spectacular,\u201d Michel promised with a mischievous grin. They discussed the unique history of American jazz in France, a genre that had found refuge here after World War II. Many African Americans, seeking lives free from discrimination, had settled in Paris where Black artists, writers, and musicians had flourished in ways they often couldn\u2019t back home. As they walked through the city, Richard found himself surprised by how many English-speaking Black people he encountered.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, they stopped for dinner at a casual restaurant in Place de la Bastille, a square infamous for its history with the guillotine during the French Revolution. Michel had thoughtfully made a reservation, and the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 welcomed them warmly. Richard assumed they\u2019d be guided to their table, but something entirely unexpected unfolded instead.<\/p>\n<p>Without a word from the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 or any waiter, Claudine began walking toward a corner of the restaurant, and the others followed her. She strolled past at least three empty tables before Richard noticed what was happening.<\/p>\n<p>An actual goose\u2014a real, live goose\u2014was leading her to the table, the hem of her skirt clutched firmly in its beak.<\/p>\n<p>Richard stopped in his tracks, gasping in disbelief. Michel burst into laughter, clearly enjoying Richard\u2019s astonished expression. \u201cA little surprise for you!\u201d he said through his chuckles. It was, indeed, a performance to remember, the kind of quirky charm that only Paris could deliver.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Richard was smitten. He had fallen in love with this new culinary discovery. Unable to resist, he ordered a second serving. Slowly, he savored each bite, letting the mousse linger on his tongue as if to absorb every nuance he might have missed the first time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Richard couldn\u2019t recall what anyone ordered for dinner that evening, but the dessert was unforgettable. When he expressed no preference from the menu, Michel leaned forward with a grin. \u201cNow for the spectacular part,\u201d he said confidently. \u201cYou must try the mousse au chocolat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard had never heard of chocolate mousse before, but his love of chocolate made him eager for the adventure. When the dish arrived, it was filled with an impossibly dark, glossy chocolate. He hesitated for just a moment before taking his first spoonful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is supposed to be chocolate?\u201d he blurted out, startled by the richness and depth of flavor.<\/p>\n<p>Claudine and Michel exchanged surprised glances before Claudine asked, \u201cWhat ess wrong, Deek? Does eet taste bahd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh my God, no!\u201d Richard assured her quickly. \u201cI have never, never tasted anything like this in my life. What kind of chocolate is this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two launched into a tandem explanation, detailing the art of making mousse au chocolat. They described melting the chocolate\u2014\u201dthe darker, the better\u201d\u2014and beating egg whites into a snowy perfection in copper bowls, explaining that the eggs needed to be room temperature for optimal volume. A touch of sugar, they said, folded together gently. \u201cAnd voila,\u201d Claudine finished with a flourish. \u201cA foamy mix of chocolate zat ze French adore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard was smitten. He had fallen in love with this new culinary discovery. Unable to resist, he ordered a second serving. Slowly, he savored each bite, letting the mousse linger on his tongue as if to absorb every nuance he might have missed the first time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27806\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27806\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27806\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/miche-guernet-small-300x184.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/miche-guernet-small-300x184.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/miche-guernet-small-768x471.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/miche-guernet-small.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Richard&#8217;s old friend Michel Guernet, his personal guide through Paris and his ambassador to the joys of mousse au chocotat. (Photo from the Richard Smith Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As he reflected on the evening, Richard thought of his mother, who had long ago cultivated his love for chocolate with childhood rewards of candy bars and ice cream. Yet that night in Paris, something shifted. What had once been a simple delight transformed into a grown-up appreciation for sophisticated flavors. That first mousse au chocolat awakened a passion he didn\u2019t yet realize would linger for the rest of his life\u2014a light, airy, sensuous discovery that stayed with him long after the evening faded.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1231040268\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1231040268 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>Nigeria<\/h2>\n<p>When he finally landed in Lagos with Parbattee and the boys, the reality of his task hit him like the stifling heat and humidity that engulfed them on the tarmac. Standing there with his black medical bag in hand, he felt both the weight of his responsibility and the thrill of possibility. Nigeria was vast\u2014a land of striking contrasts. From the lush swamps of the southern coastline to the arid deserts in the north, its geography mirrored the diversity of its people and the challenges he was about to face.<\/p>\n<p>That first night in Lagos, sleep eluded him. The ceiling fan in his temporary quarters whirred overhead, doing little to dispel the heat or his racing thoughts. <em>What\u2019s the first priority?<\/em> he wondered. <em>What can\u2019t we function without?<\/em> As he lay there, listening to the unfamiliar symphony of Lagos at night, three critical challenges crystallized in his mind\u2014challenges that could make or break the entire program before it even began.<\/p>\n<p>Blood came first<strong>.<\/strong> In a country where modern medical facilities were scarce and distances vast, Richard knew that access to blood could mean the difference between life and death. In remote Nigerian villages, help was often hours of travel time away. Within weeks of his arrival, he established what he called a \u201cwalking blood bank,\u201d systematically typing every Peace Corps volunteer\u2019s blood and creating a comprehensive registry. When crisis struck\u2014and he knew it would\u2014he could mobilize the right donor immediately, regardless of location.<\/p>\n<p>The second challenge proved more delicate to address<strong>.<\/strong> The country director, a well-meaning Baptist minister, turned visibly pale when Richard insisted on frank, mixed-gender discussions about sex and contraception. The director\u2019s discomfort was palpable, but Richard stood firm. These weren\u2019t abstract policy discussions\u2014they were practical necessities. After training 700 young adults at American universities for three months, the Peace Corps was scattering them individually across a country the size of Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana combined. Human nature didn\u2019t change just because volunteers crossed an ocean. Better to have uncomfortable conversations now than face life-altering crises later that could end careers and damage the program\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n<p>But it was the third issue\u2014smallpox\u2014that kept Richard awake longest<strong>.<\/strong> A third of the arriving volunteers had not been fully protected by their previous vaccinations, a discovery that sent a chill through him as he reviewed their medical records. One outbreak could devastate not only the Peace Corps program but also strain relations with local communities who had welcomed these young Americans. The disease spread rapidly in crowded conditions, and many of the volunteers would be living and working in close contact with large groups of Nigerians. His response was immediate and unyielding: a comprehensive revaccination campaign that would reach every volunteer under his care, no exceptions. <em>Prevention is everything,<\/em> he thought as he organized the logistics. <em>One missed vaccination could undo months of careful relationship-building.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>His preparation paid off when the inevitable challenges arose. The blood bank proved its worth during a snake bite emergency in a remote village, where the nearest hospital was hours away\u2014Richard was able to mobilize a donor within minutes. The frank discussions about contraception prevented what could have been multiple unplanned pregnancies that would have ended volunteers\u2019 service and created diplomatic complications. And the comprehensive smallpox revaccination campaign held firm when rumors of an outbreak reached a neighboring region\u2014not a single Peace Corps volunteer contracted the disease, maintaining both the program\u2019s credibility and crucial relationships with Nigerian health officials.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27691\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27691\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27691\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/dr-smith-lagos-nigeria-1963-768x433-1-300x169.png\" alt=\"dr-smith-lagos-nigeria-1963-768x433\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/dr-smith-lagos-nigeria-1963-768x433-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/dr-smith-lagos-nigeria-1963-768x433-1.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27691\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Richard Smith in Lagos, Nigeria at a 1963 meeting with Peace Corps volunteers and colleagues. Smith is located 3rd from the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Beyond these three priority areas, Richard handled other emergencies with equal care: a car accident involving volunteers far from any hospital, where his emergency protocols proved essential, and a young man on the brink of suicide who required immediate but discreet evacuation. Each crisis demanded creativity, quick thinking, and the alliances with local Nigerian doctors and officials that Richard had been cultivating since his arrival.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The realization hit him with the force of an epiphany. The vision he had described in his 2-C proposal\u2014training local health workers to multiply his hands\u2014wasn\u2019t a pipe dream. It was already happening here in Nigeria, not because of an institution\u2019s approval but because of necessity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But even as he tackled these immediate crises, Richard found himself drawn to something deeper. It was in the rural mission hospitals\u2014far from the administrative concerns of Lagos\u2014where he discovered his greatest sense of purpose. These facilities were often isolated, understaffed, and inundated with patients suffering from ailments that required only basic medical knowledge to treat. One afternoon, while visiting a clinic many miles from the nearest paved road, he observed a young Nigerian woman tending to a long line of patients. The woman\u2014a \u201cdresser,\u201d as they were called\u2014moved methodically, her hands cleaning and bandaging wounds with a competence that exceeded her limited training. He paused, struck by the scene. <em>This is exactly what I saw ten years ago,<\/em> he thought, the memory of the clinic in Cuba flashing before him. <em>Different continent, different people, but the same needs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He leaned against the doorframe, watching her work. The patients trusted her, and for good reason. She knew what she was doing, and she did it well. Her skills, though basic, were making the difference between suffering and healing for the people in this community. Richard felt a flicker of excitement rise within him. <em>This is living proof of what I\u2019ve been trying to convince the Episcopal Church to let me do,<\/em> he thought. <em>The answer is right in front of me.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27692\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27692\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27692\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Nigerian-nurse-changing-bandages-300x203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Nigerian-nurse-changing-bandages-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Nigerian-nurse-changing-bandages-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Nigerian-nurse-changing-bandages-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Nigerian-nurse-changing-bandages.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Nigerian &#8220;dresser,&#8221; cleaning and bandaging wounds in a community health clinic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The realization hit him with the force of an epiphany. The vision he had described in his 2-C proposal\u2014training local health workers to multiply his hands\u2014wasn\u2019t a pipe dream. It was already happening here in Nigeria, not because of an institution\u2019s approval but because of necessity. He began working with the most promising dressers he encountered, expanding their training beyond wound care to diagnosing and treating common illnesses\u2014malaria, fever, chest infections, diarrhea, dysentery. To his satisfaction, they quickly proved capable of handling nearly 90% of the healthcare needs in their communities. Watching their confidence grow with each success, Richard\u2019s belief in the concept he\u2019d been nurturing since his time in Cuba deepened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI volunteered my time to train these folks in the bush\u2014not in urban centers but in rural missionary hospitals,\u201d he would later recall. \u201cIn each of those settings, I selected two people that seemed brighter than most. They just responded to me and had enough English to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1427643467\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1427643467 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2><strong>A \u201cBusiness\u201d Trip to Cameroon<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Six months into his Nigerian assignment, Peace Corps Washington asked Richard to cross the country\u2019s eastern border to evaluate medical facilities for a new program in Cameroon. The assignment intrigued him. The newly independent nation was a study in colonial layers: German castles from before World War I stood alongside remnants of French and British rule, physical reminders of Europe\u2019s competing ambitions in Africa.<\/p>\n<p>From the moment his jeep left Tiko airport with a USAID employee at the wheel, Richard found himself drawn into the country\u2019s complexities. At the Kumba Research facility, British scientists eagerly shared their work on parasitic diseases, particularly intrigued by Richard\u2019s initiative to prevent filariasis among Peace Corps Volunteers through weekly doses of Hetrazan. Their discussions about parasitic lung flukes found at Mount Kumba\u2019s base reinforced his growing expertise in tropical medicine.<\/p>\n<p>At night, he stayed with Baptist missionaries near the mountain, sleeping in the same bed that had once hosted the renowned naturalist Gerald Durrell during his journey to the Bamenda Highlands. He wondered if he might find in the room a copy of the well-known book \u201cAlexandria Quartets\u201d by Gerald\u2019s novelist brother Lawrence. But the missionaries\u2019 bookshelves offered no such literary treasures.<\/p>\n<p>While his official agenda focused on assessing the region\u2019s medical infrastructure for incoming volunteers, Richard also pursued a private mission. Through Hausa traders along the West African coast, he had discovered the work of Salefou, a renowned Northern Cameroonian brass artist whose figurines, created using the lost wax method, captured both technical mastery and subtle humor in depicting daily life. Richard wrote ahead to Salefou, requesting a complete set of Salefou\u2019s figurines showing native doctors at work with their patients in Cameroonian villages. He had only seen individual pieces before but hoped to acquire the entire series.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27727\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27727\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27727 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cameroonian-lost-wax-45.9-Tikar-Bronze-1-van-7-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cameroonian-lost-wax-45.9-Tikar-Bronze-1-van-7-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cameroonian-lost-wax-45.9-Tikar-Bronze-1-van-7-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cameroonian-lost-wax-45.9-Tikar-Bronze-1-van-7-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cameroonian-lost-wax-45.9-Tikar-Bronze-1-van-7.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27727\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A lost wax figure in the style of those created by Salefou, a reknowned Cameroonian brass artist whose work Richard Smith deeply admired.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His journey took him through the southern region and Yaound\u00e9, the capital, where the first Peace Corps volunteers would be stationed. When he finally reached Bamenda, Salefou revealed something remarkable\u2014only the second complete set he had ever created, comprising eight native doctors each with one or two villagers. The artist\u2019s enthusiasm for sharing his work with a Western physician did not, however, translate into a bargain. Richard couldn\u2019t help but laugh when Salefou, with great ceremony, announced a price five times what he had expected to pay. The only other complete set, Salefou recalled, had gone to a collector he remembered vaguely as being from either India or Arabia. Despite the steep price, Richard recognized the collection\u2019s unique value; it would become a treasured possession, destined to be inherited by his children.<\/p>\n<p>Before Richard departed, a Baptist minister in Bamenda offered crucial advice for his return journey to Tiko. Six hours into the drive, crossing a savannah of towering elephant grass, they would find a single trace\u2014barely visible tire tracks\u2014branching left from the unpaved Bamenda-Kumba road. The minister\u2019s directions were precise: it would be the only opening until the savannah ended, though easy to miss where the rain-bent grass obscured the path.<\/p>\n<p>Following these directions the next morning, Richard and his driver began the journey back. Six hours later, crossing the savannah as the minister had described, they nearly missed the turn. The elephant grass formed green walls around them as they bumped along the hidden path for twenty minutes. Then suddenly, the grass parted to reveal a village clearing and an unexpected sight: the Caf\u00e9 de Paris, a humble wooden shack with a thatched roof.<\/p>\n<p>Thirsty and hungry, they hurried inside the empty restaurant. While his driver ordered beer, Richard studied the hand-lettered menu with growing amazement: soup du jour, chicken, pork, rice, fruit, and\u2014<em>could it be?<\/em>\u2014mousse au chocolat. Though he ordered soup and chicken, anticipation of the dessert made it hard to focus on the meal. Here, thousands of miles from Paris, he found himself savoring his second-ever chocolate mousse. He lost himself in the experience, each spoonful a small revelation, until he realized his appreciative \u201coohs\u201d and \u201caahs\u201d had drawn the attention of the caf\u00e9\u2019s other patrons. His driver shifted uncomfortably as Richard lingered over the unexpected delicacy, but he couldn\u2019t rush this serendipitous moment. <em>If I hadn\u2019t answered the Peace Corps call<\/em>, he thought, <em>if I hadn\u2019t requested that Paris stopover, I might never have discovered this transformative pleasure<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Back in Lagos, inspired by Salefou\u2019s brass doctors and Cameroon\u2019s layered colonial history, Richard attempted to write a short story, his first. He wove a tale of three generations of missionary doctors\u2014German, French, and British\u2014separated by world wars but connected through their search for the source of their respective brass figurines. When he sent the draft to Manny Lee for review, his mentor responded with characteristic brutal honesty, advising him to stay in the operating room and take care of patients. With the eye of a professional writer and editor, Manny found Richard\u2019s fiction as inept as he himself would be with a stethoscope. It was a humbling reminder that even as his medical expertise grew, Richard still had much to learn about his limitations.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-24027775\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-24027775 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>Dining with a Spanish Captain in Bioko<\/h2>\n<p>Richard\u2019s life in Lagos settled into a rhythm that extended beyond his Peace Corps duties. He couldn\u2019t turn away those who needed medical care, whether they were patients in mission hospitals or members of the international community. This wider practice led to unexpected connections, like the Spanish ambassador\u2019s family, whose private fisherman delivered a fresh catch to Richard\u2019s door every Friday.<\/p>\n<p>As his second year in Nigeria began, Richard\u2019s curiosity turned toward Bioko, an island forty miles off the Cameroonian coast. Part of Spanish Equatorial Guinea, its capital Malabo was deliberately isolated from outsiders. Spain, nervous about rumors concerning their treatment of the local Bubi population, made visas for outsiders nearly impossible to obtain. But Richard\u2019s connection to the Spanish ambassador proved valuable\u2014not only did he receive a visa, but also a letter of introduction to the captain of the Malaspina, a Spanish oceanographic vessel anchored in Malabo\u2019s harbor.<\/p>\n<p>The journey began with another flight to Tiko airport in Cameroon, followed by a short hop in a single-engine Cessna over the Atlantic to Malabo. After checking into a modest hotel, Richard made his way to the harbor, climbing the swaying stairway to the Malaspina only to find the captain absent. He left the ambassador\u2019s letter and returned to his hotel. Three hours later, a Spanish sailor in a jeep appeared with an invitation to dinner aboard the ship.<\/p>\n<p>The captain defied Richard\u2019s expectations. Tall and jovial with a white beard, he seemed more adventurer than naval officer as they sat at a small cocktail table on the nearly empty top deck. Despite Richard\u2019s self-described \u201cpoor Spanish,\u201d they found common ground, the captain taking time to explain his oceanographic work along Africa\u2019s west coast in careful English.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>There, under a canopy of stars, the gentle sway of the ship matching the rhythm of the Atlantic, Richard savored a remarkable scene: the Food of the Gods served on a Spanish vessel, off the coast of Africa\u2014a chocolate mousse occasion to be remembered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The evening took on a new dimension as the captain\u2019s wife joined them, just as Richard finished his aperitif. Though less comfortable with English than her husband, she held her own in the conversation, helping Richard better understand the region. Two sailors in short white coats emerged to set up a dinner table, spreading a heavy white tablecloth that somehow held firm against the gusting tropical wind. The evening proceeded smoothly with a sumptuous seafood dinner.<\/p>\n<p>After dinner, the captain posed what seemed like a casual question: did Richard like chocolate? He boasted that his chef made the finest mousse au chocolat in all Africa, the secret being chocolate from Bioko\u2019s own cacao plants. <em>How strange<\/em>, Richard mused, <em>that after decades without knowing this dessert existed, I\u2019ve encountered it three times in less than a year, each time more magical than the last<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The captain\u2019s mousse proved \u201cdownright sinful,\u201d a supercharged creation with a hint of rum that gave it more body than Richard\u2019s Parisian introduction. Its lighter color suggested the addition of cream, while flecks of chocolate scattered across the top provided striking contrast. There, under a canopy of stars, the gentle sway of the ship matching the rhythm of the Atlantic, Richard savored a remarkable scene: the Food of the Gods served on a Spanish vessel, off the coast of Africa\u2014a chocolate mousse occasion to be remembered.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-443719\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-443719 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>An Unexpected Journey Home<\/h2>\n<p>In the fall of 1962, Dr. Smith faced an unusual and critical challenge. He was tasked with evacuating a non-Peace Corps U.S. government employee from Lagos, Nigeria, to a hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The man suffered from a severe reactive depression and had been unable to sleep for two weeks, despite Smith\u2019s best efforts to provide care at his home. Sedatives, no matter the dosage, had proven ineffective, and the situation had become untenable. Richard had no choice but to arrange for the patient\u2019s transfer to the United States, where more advanced treatment could be provided.<\/p>\n<p>The flight to JFK Airport was relatively uneventful, though Richard remained on edge throughout. Several times during the journey, he escorted the patient to the first-class lavatory to administer Thorazine injections in an effort to calm him. He carried a vial of nikethamide\u2014a powerful stimulant\u2014in case the sedatives caused respiratory depression, a real risk given the man\u2019s fragile state. Richard had never flown with a patient before, and he worried about how the altitude, reduced oxygen levels, and dry air might affect him. <em>Would the already precarious situation escalate midair?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By the time the plane landed in New York, the patient remained wide-eyed and exhausted, his condition unchanged. A three-hour layover for the Detroit connection offered a brief reprieve. Behind the Immigration and Customs area, Richard discovered a small medical room with two beds. He lay down for a much-needed nap while the patient, still restless, paced the floor before eventually lying down as well.<\/p>\n<p>The journey resumed with a connecting flight to Detroit. Upon arrival, they were met at the airport and transported directly to a small hospital on the city\u2019s outskirts. The staff had been prepared for the patient\u2019s arrival. Once admitted, Smith signed the necessary transfer paperwork, but not before questioning a standing order for 100 milligrams of Secobarbital, a sedative prescribed by the attending physician. Dr. Smith voiced his concerns to the nurse on duty, explaining that the patient\u2019s insomnia had persisted for weeks despite stronger medications. Still, the order was carried out.<\/p>\n<p>Before leaving the hospital, Dr. Smith stopped by the patient\u2019s room for a final check. To his astonishment, the man was fast asleep, snoring like a locomotive\u2014a sound that highlighted just how elusive rest had been during the two-week ordeal. For Richard, the moment was a mixture of relief and frustration. <em>Was it simply the act of returning home that allowed him to relax?<\/em><\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-2074288676\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-2074288676 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>A Front Row Seat to the Cuban Missile Crisis<\/h2>\n<p>Since Richard was already stateside following the unexpected journey home with his patient, the Peace Corps seized the opportunity to bring him to Washington, D.C., for a debriefing with the medical leadership. As the first overseas physician to return to headquarters since operations began, his insights were in high demand.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his biggest medical challenges with Peace Corps Volunteers, Dr. Smith\u2019s response was as direct as it was unexpected. \u201cSex,\u201d he said calmly, glancing around the room as the older doctors who had established the overseas medical framework visibly bristled.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Smith laid out the situation plainly: \u201cAfter training 700 young adults at an American university for three months, we drop them individually across a country the size of Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana combined. Of course, they\u2019re going to travel all over the place in their free time to spend it with each other. That\u2019s what 22- to 24-year-old American kids do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went on to explain the practical challenges this created. Volunteers traveled vast distances during their free time to visit each other, unplanned pregnancies could end careers and create diplomatic complications, and sexually transmitted infections required discrete treatment in tight-knit communities where privacy was nearly impossible. The older, more traditional physicians appeared unsettled by his candor, but Richard knew there was no point in sugarcoating the reality they faced.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>That evening, Richard joined others gathered around televisions across town to watch President Kennedy address the nation about the Cuban missile crisis. In the midst of what could have become a global catastrophe, Kennedy\u2019s calm presence provided a steadying influence that Richard observed having a positive effect on the worried viewers around him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Before Richard could brief them about other challenges like car accidents and psychological adjustment issues, the red phone on the director\u2019s desk rang. It was Sarge Shriver calling an emergency senior staff meeting. The director, recognizing that most Washington staff only knew about overseas operations through cables and occasional phone calls, invited Richard to attend along with his chief administrative officer.<\/p>\n<p>Richard found himself seated against the wall with about a dozen others, behind twenty senior staff members arranged around a long rectangular table. When Sarge Shriver entered, his usual smile was nowhere to be seen. His mouth was tight, his eyes steely with concern. The room fell silent as he sat down, hands clasped over his mouth, more somber than most had ever witnessed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJack just called,\u201d Shriver began, referring to President Kennedy. \u201cTwo fighter jets conducted low-level flights over a Cuban missile site. The missiles are now aimed directly at the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27690\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27690\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27690\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cuba-missle-crisis-map-U1316606-300x209.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cuba-missle-crisis-map-U1316606-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cuba-missle-crisis-map-U1316606-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/cuba-missle-crisis-map-U1316606.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27690\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A period graphic representing the feared reach of the Russian missiles discovered on neighboring Cuba.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The collective groan around the table was almost palpable. Shriver continued, outlining the need to evacuate Peace Corps Volunteers immediately. The plan seemed logical at first\u2014but then Richard realized what it truly meant. <em>Evacuate them? Back to the U.S.?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Without thinking, Richard stood up. \u201cAre you out of your mind?\u201d he blurted out. The words echoed across the room. All eyes turned to him, a mix of shock and curiosity on their faces. He pressed on, undeterred. \u201cWhere do you think those missiles are aimed? They\u2019re safer in the field than they are here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shriver\u2019s sharp gaze locked onto him, but he didn\u2019t respond immediately. Richard returned to his seat, his words hanging in the air. <em>Did I just blow my career? <\/em>he wondered. But looking around the room, he saw expressions of agreement and sympathy on many faces. The reality of their situation\u2014and concern for their families in the Washington area\u2014was beginning to register. Shriver announced he would meet with Regional Program Directors within the hour to develop an action plan, then left the room.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, Richard joined others gathered around televisions across town to watch President Kennedy address the nation about the Cuban missile crisis. In the midst of what could have become a global catastrophe, Kennedy\u2019s calm presence provided a steadying influence that Richard observed having a positive effect on the worried viewers around him.<\/p>\n<p>The following morning, he boarded a flight back to Nigeria, determined to continue his work. The crisis would soon pass, but the experience had crystallized something important for Richard. The Peace Corps volunteers were exactly where they needed to be.<\/p>\n<p>His duties as Peace Corps physician took him on endless rounds through villages and countryside, often traveling 200 to 300 miles between visits to check on volunteers scattered across Nigeria. From his office in Lagos, he developed preventive medicine programs, scheduled booster shots and annual physicals, and kept constant watch for signs of disease among the volunteers. When volunteers fell ill, he directed them to local doctors for minor ailments or arranged evacuation to the modern teaching hospital in Ibadan or Lagos for more serious cases. Yet between these official duties, he found himself drawn more and more to the potential he saw in Nigeria\u2019s rural healthcare workers.<\/p>\n<p>As the sun set on another long day, Richard sat beneath a mango tree with a group of dressers gathered around him. They asked questions, their eagerness to learn evident in their voices. He answered each one with care, knowing their success would ripple outward to the communities they served. Above them, the first stars began to pierce the darkening sky. <em>This is how you multiply hands,<\/em> he thought, a sense of purpose steadying him for the work still ahead.<\/p>\n<p>His time in Nigeria would prove transformative, not just for the communities he served but for his own understanding of how lasting change could be achieved. The success stories weren\u2019t about Americans swooping in with solutions, but about mutual effort and shared investment in outcomes. The most sustainable changes grew from the expressed needs of community members themselves, nurtured through partnership rather than imposed from above. When Richard finally left Nigeria in mid-1963, he carried with him more than just memories\u2014he had gained a blueprint for the future.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27782\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27782\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27782\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-300x214.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-300x214.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-1024x730.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-768x547.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-1536x1095.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/smith-son-peace-corps-sign-washington-dc-1-2048x1459.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27782\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Smith standing with his son in front of the Peace Corps offices in Washington D.C. in mid-1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1291216540\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1291216540 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>Dr. Smith Goes Back to Washington<\/h2>\n<p>The vibrations of the plane\u2019s engines pulsed through Richard\u2019s body as he watched the Nigerian coastline recede beneath the wing. His black medical bag, now worn from two years of service, rested at his feet. He was returning to Washington to take on a much larger role as newly assigned Africa Regional Medical Officer, overseeing all Peace Corps doctors across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>A patch of turbulence jolted him from his reverie. His mind shifted to the young dresser cleaning an infected wound with careful precision. Her movements were confident, her manner calming. <em>This is the key,<\/em> he said to himself. <em>Not more doctors in white coats. Not fancy hospitals. But people\u2014local people\u2014trained to meet their community\u2019s needs. We built something real there.<\/em> He pulled out his notebook, beginning to sketch ideas that had been forming throughout his time in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>As the plane crossed the Atlantic, Richard\u2019s pen moved faster across the page. The disparities he\u2019d witnessed between sophisticated teaching hospitals in Lagos and the desperate needs of rural communities demanded a new approach. His experiences had shown him that healthcare workers didn\u2019t need years of medical school to make a real difference. They needed targeted competency-based training, support, and connection to a larger system.<\/p>\n<p><em>This could work anywhere,<\/em> he thought, underlining a section in his notes. <em>Not just Nigeria. Not just Africa. Anywhere people are willing to learn, to serve their communities.<\/em> The vision that had first stirred in him as a young man in Cuba was taking clearer shape with each mile that carried him toward Washington.<\/p>\n<p>What had begun as an urgent mission to protect Peace Corps volunteers had evolved into something far more profound\u2014a blueprint for transforming healthcare delivery in underserved communities worldwide. Richard smiled slightly, closing his notebook. The real work was just beginning.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-1282722768\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-1282722768 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>From Nigeria to the Halls of Power<\/h2>\n<p><em>Late Summer 1963 &#8211; Washington, D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The view from Smith\u2018s new office window swept across the National Mall, but his mind was still in Nigeria. The sounds of typewriters and hushed conversations in the Peace Corps headquarters couldn\u2019t drown out his memories of dirt roads, village clinics, and the faces of the \u201cdressers\u201d he\u2019d trained.<\/p>\n<p><em>How did I get here?<\/em> he wondered, straightening the nameplate on his desk that read <em>\u201cAfrica Regional Medical Officer.\u201d<\/em> Just months ago, he\u2019d been treating volunteers in remote Nigerian villages. Now he was overseeing every Peace Corps doctor on the continent of Africa. The promotion had come quickly, and the opportunity to oversee healthcare across an entire continent was undeniable. But as he adjusted to the sterile world of Washington bureaucracy, he felt the tug of doubt. Could he make the same impact from behind a desk? Or would the numbers, memos, and meetings swallow the humanity he\u2019d found in the field?<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>While decisions were made in polished conference rooms, Smith knew that the heart of the Peace Corps\u2019 mission pulsed in the field. As head of health operations spanning 44 countries, Smith understood his job wasn\u2019t to sit idly behind a desk.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>By 1964, another promotion landed him in an even larger role as Deputy Director of the entire Peace Corps Medical Program Division. His most important partnership came with Dr. James Banta, Director of International Health at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). Together, they formed a powerful alliance between the Peace Corps and HEW, and Smith found in Banta an ally who shared his vision. Their conversations often stretched late into the evening, plotting ways to revolutionize healthcare delivery in underserved areas across the globe. Banta understood what Smith had seen firsthand: that solutions didn\u2019t always need to come from doctors. Training local providers\u2014embedding care within communities\u2014was the key to scaling healthcare access in places where traditional systems couldn\u2019t reach.<\/p>\n<p>But Dr. Smith\u2018s work wasn\u2019t easily confined to an office in Washington, D.C. While decisions were made in polished conference rooms, Smith knew that the heart of the Peace Corps\u2019 mission pulsed in the field. As head of health operations spanning 44 countries, Smith understood his job wasn\u2019t to sit idly behind a desk. It was to ensure that Peace Corps doctors had what they needed to fight disease, deliver care, and meet crises head-on in the most remote corners of the world. He spent more time on the ground than in his office, stepping into clinics, meeting with country directors, and solving problems that couldn\u2019t wait for bureaucracy to catch up.<\/p>\n<p>When reports reached Washington that Peace Corps volunteers in Gabon were cooking with gasoline-filled garbage cans, it wasn\u2019t hard to send word for them to stop. But the situation presented an opportunity Richard couldn\u2019t resist: a chance to visit Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9 and meet the famous Dr. Albert Schweitzer himself. Schweitzer was not only a towering figure in medicine but also a personal inspiration for Richard\u2014a man whose work in the jungle and love of Bach\u2019s music had long fascinated him. So, Smith arranged his visit, using the gasoline issue as a reason to see the situation for himself and, more importantly, to sit across from the man who had turned both medicine and music into tools of change.<\/p>\n\t<div id=\"gap-2063910284\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-2063910284 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2>A Visit with Dr. Albert Schweitzer<\/h2>\n<p><em>1964 &#8211; Gabon<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The jeep jostled along the dirt road, weaving through a dense wall of jungle that seemed to ripple with movement. A cicada\u2019s piercing drone cut through the air, rising and falling like a wave, while high above, a flock of green parrots burst from the canopy, their wings flashing in the sunlight. The air inside the vehicle was thick, humid, and carried the faint tang of damp earth and decaying vegetation. When the jeep finally rolled to a stop at the Peace Corps station in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9, Richard climbed down, brushing red dust from his pants.<\/p>\n<p>When Richard arrived at the Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9 station, he immediately shut down the dangerous practice of volunteers cooking over gasoline-fueled fires and worked with the country director to implement safer alternatives. After resolving the safety issues at the Peace Corps station, Richard turned his attention to the real reason for his visit.<\/p>\n<p>Down the winding dirt road, Albert Schweitzer\u2019s hospital came into view, its corrugated metal roofs gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The buildings reflected Schweitzer\u2019s ingenuity\u2014corrugated metal roofs designed to channel away Gabon\u2019s torrential rains while allowing air circulation in the stifling heat.<\/p>\n<p>Inside Schweitzer\u2019s bungalow, the air was cooler, carrying the faint scent of varnished wood and books. Schweitzer rose slowly from his desk as Richard entered. Here was the man whose \u201cReverence for Life\u201d philosophy and decades spent working in the African jungle had earned him global renown, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. His white shirt was neat but worn at the cuffs, his movements were deliberate, and his sharp eyes studied Richard with quiet curiosity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWillkommen,\u201d Schweitzer said, his voice low but warm. Richard returned the greeting in halting German, nodding toward the Peace Corps psychiatrist who accompanied him, ready to interpret if needed.<\/p>\n<p>After brief pleasantries, Richard explained what had brought him to Gabon: the gasoline fires, the volunteers\u2019 dangerous improvisation, and the steps he had taken to address the problem. Schweitzer listened intently, his hands steepled beneath his chin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have come to extinguish a fire,\u201d Schweitzer said after a pause, a faint smile forming on his lips. \u201cBut I sense there is more to your visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the conversation turned to Schweitzer\u2019s work, Richard\u2019s eyes were drawn to a small pile of records stacked near the piano in the corner of the room. The labels, though faded, bore a name that needed no translation: Bach. Schweitzer noticed his gaze and smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou play?\u201d Schweitzer asked.<\/p>\n<p>Richard nodded. \u201cI played Bach\u2019s fugues on the pipe organ when I was younger. They\u2019re not easy pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, they are not,\u201d Schweitzer replied, his tone softening. \u201cThey demand precision\u2014discipline of the mind and soul. I recorded them often, during my trips back to Europe. The funds from those recordings\u2026\u201d He gestured to the hospital outside the window. \u201cThey built this place. Without music, none of this would exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27720\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27720\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27720\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Schweitzer_double_pianohosptial-300x132.png\" alt=\"Schweitzer_double_piano&amp;hosptial\" width=\"700\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Schweitzer_double_pianohosptial-300x132.png 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Schweitzer_double_pianohosptial-1024x450.png 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Schweitzer_double_pianohosptial-768x337.png 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Schweitzer_double_pianohosptial.png 1402w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27720\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The globally renowned Dr. Albert Schweitzer at the piano in his home (left) and standing on the grounds of the H\u00f4pital Albert Schweitzer in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9, Gabon (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Richard nodded, letting the weight of Schweitzer\u2019s words settle. For a moment, they sat in thoughtful silence, the sounds of the jungle filtering through the open window. Then Richard leaned forward slightly, his expression shifting. \u201cI\u2019ve been working on an idea, one I believe could transform healthcare in places like this,\u201d he began. \u201cIt\u2019s about training non-physician providers\u2014local people who can handle basic healthcare tasks, freeing doctors to focus on the most complex cases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He described his experiences in Cuba, where minimally trained workers had saved countless lives, and among the Nigerian dressers, where similar principles had proven effective. \u201cIt\u2019s not about replacing doctors,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s about extending their reach. One person can only do so much, but if we train many hands, we can multiply that effort a thousandfold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schweitzer leaned back in his chair, his gaze thoughtful. His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest as though playing an unseen melody. When he finally spoke, his voice was measured. \u201cIt is a bold idea. But bold ideas often meet resistance\u2014from governments, from professionals who fear losing their authority. You will need patience\u2014and allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve faced resistance before,\u201d Richard replied. \u201cBut I\u2019ve also seen the need. And I know it can work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schweitzer studied him for a long moment, then smiled faintly. \u201cPerhaps you are right. Perhaps the future does belong to many hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Richard left the bungalow, his gaze lingered on the piano before returning to the hospital compound\u2014the gleaming roofs, the bustling patients, and the staff below. Schweitzer\u2019s work was extraordinary, but it was the work of one man\u2014a singular achievement born of vision and relentless dedication. Richard\u2019s vision was different. It wasn\u2019t about what one person could build; it was about what many could sustain together.<\/p>\n<p>Back in the jeep, as the jungle closed in around him, Richard\u2019s thoughts crystallized. <em>If Schweitzer could raise roofs with his vision, I can raise an army of hands to carry the work forward. Many hands, working together\u2014that\u2019s the future.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27784\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27784\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27784\" src=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined-300x132.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined-300x132.jpg 300w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined-1024x452.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined-768x339.jpg 768w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined-1536x678.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/Smith-Schweitzer-standing-walking-combined.jpg 1876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27784\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Drs. Albert Schweitzer and Richard Smith stand together on the grounds of the H\u00f4pital Albert Schweitzer in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9, Gabon in 1964 (left). Dr. Schweitzer walks away after his visit with Dr. Smith (right) (photo taken by Richard Smith)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Additional copyediting by Melanee Nelson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<style>\n#section_531856744 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n  padding-bottom: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/section>\n\t\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Dr. Richard Smith spread the morning newspaper across his desk at the Public Health Service Indian Hospital in Tuba City, Arizona, his eyes caught a headline about the Peace Corps\u2019 first volunteers heading overseas. It was July 1961, and President Kennedy\u2019s ambitious new program was quickly moving from concept to reality. Richard leaned back, the crisp paper crinkling in his hands as he read about the first teams preparing to depart for Ghana and Tanganyika. Now this is interesting, he thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":27696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-series"],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1761952444:173"],"_edit_last":["221"],"post_order":["3"],"_thumbnail_id":["27696"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26932"}],"version-history":[{"count":96,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28557,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26932\/revisions\/28557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}