After taking a machine gun bullet to the leg on April 9, 1945, in Erbach, Germany, Kennedy Smartt was soon thereafter touched by the kindness of strangers. The recipient of a transfusion on the same day, Smartt felt gratitude for whoever’s blood was now coursing through his veins, and he made a vow then and there to help others. Most recently, Smartt — now 90 years old and living in Gainesville — has been chairperson of the blood drive at Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian for the past 12 years.