Rotary Mourns Jerry Smith
The Rotary Club of Killeen Heights is mourning the loss of Rotarian Jerry Smith, 70, of Pidcoke, Texas who died in an automobile accident on April 5, 2009.
COL (Ret) Jerry Smith was born January 29, 1941 on his parents farm near Senath in the
He served in command and staff assignments in the United States, Europe and Asia, including two combat tours in infantry battalions in Vietnam and as Chief of Staff of the 3rd Armored Division in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. He served as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and as the Deputy Director of Training on the Army Staff in the Pentagon. He retired from the
After retiring from the Army he served as Director of Army Instruction for the JROTC programs in Lee County, Florida; then as an Operations Manager for General Dynamics in Saudi Arabia and finally as the General Dynamics Manager for field services for the Abrams tank.
His earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor at Belton, Texas; an M.P.A. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City; and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the U.S.A.F. Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
His decorations include the Legion of Merit with 2OLC and the Bronze Star with 3OLC.
He was VP of JR ROTC & the Wounded Warrior Program on the Board of the Fort Hood and Central Texas Chapter of the Association of the US Army, and was the Chairman of the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee. He attended the AUSA Convention in Washington D.C. the last 5 years and volunteered to help with chapter activities wherever he was needed.Soldiers and their families always came first with Jerry.