Sergeant First Class Smith was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in North Korea on 2 December 1950 and died of those wounds on 16 December 1950. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Smith was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.