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<em>Wayne Richard Smith</em> was born in Denver, CO, the elder of the two children of Louis and Hazel Smith. His father was a firefighter with the Denver Fire Department who later became Fire Chief at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital.</p>
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After graduation from East High School, Wayne attended the University of Denver be­fore entering West Point in 1951. His father, who had served with the Army during the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico chas­ing Pancho Villa, was very proud to have a son at West Point.</p>
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Having done some amateur boxing, Wayne tried out for the Plebe boxing team, where he showed great determination and toughness. He also played corps squad soccer and was a member of the victorious Goat team in the 1953 Goat-Engineer football game.</p>
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Upon graduation and commissioning in the Infantry, he married Jean Tully, also from Denver, and adopted her daughter Shawn. Wayne and Jean had two more children: daughter Erin and son Kevin.</p>
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Infantry duty suited Wayne’s interests and skills well. He served with distinction in the Army Special Forces, both in combat and non-combat assignments. He quickly devel­oped strong bonds with the NCOs and oth­er soldiers in his units. His initial assignment was to Ft. Benning, GA, for basic Infantry, Airborne, and Ranger training. His first troop duty was at Ft. Bragg, NC, with the 82d Airborne Division. He later served in Korea and, most notably, in Viet Nam.</p>
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Stateside duty at Forts Knox, Leavenworth, and Meade followed. Wayne also returned to Ft. Bragg to serve with Special Forces units and the Airborne, Communications and Electronics Test Board.</p>
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At Ft. Leavenworth, Wayne had earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri. In 1977, he re­tired as a lieutenant colonel at Ft. Meade. The <em>Register</em> credits him with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, two Air Medals, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.</p>
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Wayne’s marriage to Jean ended in di­vorce, as did a later marriage to Janet Shuler, whose son Hi had been adopted by Wayne. His 1987 marriage to Louise Ray ended with her death in 1999.</p>
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Wayne was a born extrovert with a great sense of humor. His positive attitude and good humor served him well throughout his military career. His colleagues say he de­lighted in tough assignments. Once, Wayne was leading a Special Forces rescue mission down the Grand Canyon to aid some Havasu Pi Indians stranded by a rainstorm. Imagine his surprise when he saw his young niece also stranded there with a group of Girl Scouts!</p>
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Even in Viet Nam, Wayne occasion­ally displayed his sense of humor. He once hired a Vietnamese woman to make North Vietnamese flags. He then left them out in the rain and let men throw chicken blood all over them. He sold the mud-and blood-cov­ered flags as war souvenirs to Air Force crews bringing supplies to his unit.</p>
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Wayne’s toughest assignment surely was learning that he had cancer. He knew what he was up against but said he would fight it to the finish. The cause of his disease was never established, but Wayne felt it was due to expo­sure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam.</p>
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Wayne credited his morale to the sup­port of classmates who visited and phoned and to those who regularly took him out to local restaurants for lunch. Proud of being a USMA graduate, he seldom missed a meeting of the local West Point Society. Even when his health began to fail, he endured considerable pain to travel and visit friends and family.</p>
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Early during his last round of hospital stays and while quite ill, Wayne made a goal to at­tend the first baseball game the next season. He not only saw that game, but also saw sev­eral other games that year and the next! At one point, he was admitted to the Veterans Hospital hospice ward. Unexpectedly, Wayne thrived, quit his wheelchair, and was released. Soon he was back in his own apartment. Only months before he passed away, Wayne fulfilled a lifelong wish when he bought a convertible. His license plate bore one of his father’s pet ex­pressions: “HI DE HO.”</p>
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Wayne maintained strong ties with class­mates through the years. He had been very fond of his former classmate and roommate, Oscar Raynal. Oscar had come to West Point from Mexico, where he had returned after graduation. After a tour in the Mexican Army, Oscar felt called and became a Catholic priest. When Wayne’s son Kevin decided to marry a Catholic girl, Wayne asked Father Oscar to officiate at the ceremony. Oscar agreed with­out hesitation. After some anxiety over getting Oscar from Mexico to Los Angeles on time, the wedding took place as scheduled.</p>
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Wayne attended the wedding, but his con­dition was deteriorating. Hurrying through the Los Angeles airport to catch his flight home, he dropped his West Point class ring. His fingers had shrunk and the ring was very loose. By the time he realized that he no longer had the ring on his finger, he had to board his plane. Fortunately, someone saw the ring fall. When the stranger picked it up and saw what it was, he traced Wayne via the Internet. With the help of some classmates who relayed the message, the ring was soon returned. Wayne was absolutely ecstatic. His neighbor, a report­er for the local newspaper, saw a heart-warm­ing human interest story and wrote an article about the incident.</p>
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Only days later, Wayne collapsed and was admitted to Cape Fear Hospital. He never re­gained consciousness, but his stout heart kept him alive for several more days.</p>
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No one will ever forget hearing “WAYNE R. SMITH HERE” when he picked up the phone. We also remember his intense loyal­ty, determination, and caring. May he rest in peace.</p>
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<em>Family, friends and classmates</em></p>