Gary Francis Smith

Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army, retired - Chief of Army Retirement Services.

He was commissioned from ROTC at Creighton in January 1968 and commanded a company of the 560th Signal Battalion at Vicenza. In 1970 he was a communications officer with the 546th Infantry and assistant S-3 and S-4 of the 523rd Signal Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division, at Chu Lai in Vietnam.

He was aide-de-camp and training officer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, executive officer and adjutant at the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, an equal opportunity officer with the Military District of Washington, and G-1 and adjutant general of the Allied Forces Central Europe Reserve Corps at Maastricht. He came back to Washington in 1984 to the alcohol and drug policy branch at Army headquarters, and in 1988 was deputy chief of staff for personnel, administration and logistics at the Community and Family Support Center.

From 1989 until his retirement in October 1991 he ran retired and veterans' affairs and then the Army Family Support Directorate, and he had held his last post - looking after the Army's retirees - since January 1992.

He holds the Soldier's Medal, which is given for heroism not involving an enemy.

His wife Ann and their four daughters.