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Taps, Present Arms
Master
Sergeant Dolphis Smith
Master Sergeant (Retired)
Dolphis Smith, 84, died May 12, 2005, in Cleveland, Ohio.
MSG Dolphis Smith was born
December 20, 1920 to the union of Rev. Alberta and Queola Smith in
Cherry Valley, Arkansas. He attended the public schools of Cherry
Valley and the Brinkley Academy in Brinkley, Arkansas.
He entered the United States
Army in 1942 and served honorably for twenty years. He retired in
December of 1962 as a Master Sergeant. During the Korean Conflict he
suffered a near fatal head injury. He survived this injury and
returned to service. He was assigned to the All Army Pistol Team. He
was an outstanding shooter and a member of the coaching staff
preparing Army marksmen for domestic and international competition.
His awards include the Purple
Heart Medal and the U. S.
Army Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge. After retiring from
military service, he worked for the VA Hospital, Brecksville, Ohio,
and then the U. S. Postal Service, where he retired after
more than twenty years. Dolphis was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member
of the Jacob Harrison Consistory Lodge No. 85 in Columbus, Georgia.
After retirement from the Army
in 1962, Dolphis became a deacon at Bethesda Missionary Baptist
Church. Deacon Smith served as chairman of the Deacon Board for over
thirty years until his health began to fail. Deacon Smith was
supportive of his church, both spiritually and financially. He was a
dynamic speaker and encouraged excellence from all around him.
Those who served in the Army
with Dolphis will remember him as a soldier who pulled himself up by
his bootstraps. He often addressed his fellow soldiers as
“Citizen,” and we, in turn, remember “Citizen
Smith” as being a great American soldier. |