Lt. Gen. DeWitt C. Smith

1920 - 2005

Lt. Gen. DeWitt C. Smith Jr., 84, of Niantic, Conn., died July 21, 2005, in New London, Conn., after a brief illness.

Gen. Smith was a former deputy chief of staff of the Army, and twice served as commandant of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He served on active duty for 38 years and has been widely credited for his role in developing the modern volunteer Army and for educating its senior officers at Carlisle.

Gen. Smith was deeply interested in civil rights and believed in a citizen military committed to full participation in a free democracy. He was among those retired general officers who signed a national petition against the use of land mines in recent times, and frequently raised concerns about the use of the Army in the present Iraqi conflict.

Born Aug. 31, 1920, in Baltimore to the late DeWitt C. Smith Sr. and Gladys Benson Smith, Gen. Smith was raised in Bethesda, Md., and was preceded in death by his younger sister, Phyllis Crawford.

While a youth, he was a Davis Cup junior champion and later played varsity tennis at Maryland, continuing tournament play during his Army career and into his early 50s. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in government and politics.

Gen. Smith first served as a private in the Canadian army during World War II before joining the U.S. Army in 1942, also as a private. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and sent overseas with the famous Fourth Armored Division and served continuously in combat after Normandy until the end of the war.

Gen. Smith was wounded three times in action and was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for valor, among other decorations. Gen. Smith later served in the Korean War, came under fire in the Dominican Republic and commanded a combat brigade of the First Infantry Division in Vietnam during that conflict.

After retiring from the Army, Gen. Smith served in a number of executive positions, including: director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency; as a member of the board of directors of HARSCO Corp. in Harrisburg; as senior consultant for the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C.; and as the chairman of the board of trustees of the George Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Va., where he remained a trustee emeritus until his death.

In 1977 Gen. Smith was the Army's Kermit Roosevelt Lecturer to England. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, the Association of the United States Army, the Fourth Armored Division Association and Phi Delta Theta.

Gen. Smith is the recipient of two Distinguished Service Medals (the highest military award for staff service); the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars; the Legion of Merit (four times); the Combat Infantryman's Badge; the Army Commendation Medal; the Korean Chung Mu with Gold Star; the Fourth Armored Division Presidential Unit Citation and the French Fourragere, among other ribbons.

Gen. Smith is survived by his college sweetheart and wife of 62 years, Margaret "Betty" (Bond) Smith, of Niantic.

He is also survived by their six children and spouses: DeWitt C. Smith III and his wife, Deanna, of High Springs, Fla.; Dana Smith Jain and her husband, Rajan, of Alamo, Calif.; Shelley Smith Flanagan, of Gainesville, Fla.; Kevin M. Smith Sr. and his wife, Mary Jane, of Upper Allen Township; Betsy Smith Brousseau and her husband, Ken, of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, and Barbara Smith Hart, also of Alamo, Calif. In addition, Gen. Smith is survived by his 12 grandchildren: Ethan Wimert, Kevin Smith Jr., Heather Knudson Smith, Jake Jain, Tyler Brousseau, Jenny Jain, Carlyle Brousseau, Mallory Smith, Kirin Jain, Dewitt C. Smith IV, Caitlin Smith and Sarah Flanagan. Gen. Smith has two great-grandchildren, Paige Smith and Garrett Smith, and is survived by a niece, Carolee Crawford. He is also survived by his devoted friend "Tanker."

Burial services will be at Arlington National Cemetery, with the date to be set later. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Neilan Funeral Home, 48 Grand St., Niantic, Conn.

Calling hours will be at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, July 25.

Donations in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C.