[2] During World War II, Smith was posted to the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, serving on it until it was sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942.

[4] After the war, Smith was posted to the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, California, where he worked with rockets as the head of first the Explosives Department and then as associate technical director.

He went on to work on the Poseidon and Trident missiles,[1] serving as director of the Special Projects Office from 1966 until his retirement in 1974.

[2] Rear Admiral Robert Wertheim recalled that Throughout the development of the Polaris family of weapons, the transition to the more potent Poseidon and the conceptual exploration that led to the present Trident system, Levering Smith led either the technical team or the entire program.

Thus, he contributed over twenty years of intelligent leadership, utilizing the combined assets of the country from our universities, government labs, and industry.

Thompson Award from the Naval Ordnance Test Station and the C. N. Hickman from the American Rocket Society in 1957; the American Society of Naval Engineers' Gold Medal and the Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award from Navy League of the United States in 1961; the Gold Knight of Management Award from the National Management Association in 1972; and an honorary doctor of laws degree from New Mexico State University.