[1] Smith enlisted in the U.S. Army upon graduation and was deployed to England, where he worked on the logistics planning for the Normandy landings.

[2] In August 1974 Smith was appointed as head of the Defense Attaché Office, Saigon (DAO), making him the highest-ranking U.S. military official in South Vietnam.

In this role Smith was a key figure in the last year of South Vietnam's existence, finally overseeing Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon in April 1975.

[3] Smith left Saigon on 29 April 1975 and later resumed command of the DAO residual office at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

Smith died on March 6, 2011, in San Antonio, Texas, and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.