Willard Smith

Willard Smith is a contestant from.

Profile
Born and raised in Connecticut, Willard Smith spent his early childhood in and out of hospitals. He contracted rheumatic fever when he was five years old. He spent several years in a wheelchair and one full year in a children's hospital. Eventually he recovered and joined the Marine Corps on his 17th birthday. Smith spent the next five years with the Marine Corps, serving two years in Vietnam as a scout/sniper in a reconnaissance unit.

In 1969, Smith left the Marine Corps. He spent two years working as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service while attending college full-time at night. He quit the Post Office in 1972 and completed his undergraduate degree at San Diego State University where he graduated with high honors and earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and philosophy. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

On July 4, 1971, Smith met his future wife. They moved in together that night and have been together ever since. He joined the Army in 1975 and served as a race relations specialist until 1981. He applied to law school and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1984. He and his wife then moved to Washington where he has since had a private practice in the Seattle area. His wife, who has a master's degree in history, has spent the last 10 years working as a teacher's assistant at a private elementary school for gifted children. After leaving active duty in 1981, Willard continued to serve in the Army National Guard until 1992 when he was transferred to the Retired Reserve as a Sergeant First Class.

Smith was a member of the University of San Diego Appellate Moot Court Board and was a member of the National Order of Barristers. He is currently a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the First Marine Division Association.

Smith and his wife, Pamela, currently reside in Bellevue, Washington. His birth date is November 30, 1947.

Survivor: Palau
While rowing to the island they will be staying, Willard grew annoyed with Wanda Shirk's singing. After arriving on the beach, he noticed that the Flag only said Survivor: Palau, with no indications of any tribe. He was answered the next day, when it was revealed that the tribes would be decided by schoolyard pick and the last two unpicked would go home. Willard was dangerously close to elimination, but Caryn Groedel selected him to be on the Koror tribe over Jonathan Libby.

Koror generally defeated the disorganized Ulong, but because of his age, Willard was often sat out of challenges and didn't help around camp. On one morning, Tom Westman hinted to Willard to help with the fire. However, Willard claimed his age prevented from helping out with camp life. Tom noted it didn't take much effort to drop a log into the fire, believing Willard was simply being lazy and noted that Willard is staying much longer than he should due to Koror's winning streak. On Day 12, both tribes would go to Tribal Council and Tom deemed Willard the tribe's biggest liability. In addition, he did not want Willard doing well in puzzle challenges at the merge and taking one of the seats at the Final Tribal Council. While most of the tribe agreed, Coby Archa preferred to vote out Katie Gallagher over Willard. However, he knew it was futile to vote with Willard and joined the rest of the tribe in unanimously voting him out.

Trivia

 * A joke that is believed to be originated from the Survivor fan community states that the Immunity Idol for the season looked like Willard. This is why it got the nickname "The Immunity Willard".
 * Willard was the only member of Koror to be eliminated during the tribal stage of the game.
 * However he was elimanated at a double tribal council.
 * Willard was the oldest contestant on Survivor: Palau.
 * While in Palau, Willard said that he was a mail carrier, not a lawyer.
 * However, he revealed in the reunion that he was a mail carrier at one point.
 * Willard is tied with Stephenie LaGrossa, Angie Jakusz and Kim Mullen for the most votes received in with 8.