David Terrance Smith of Madison, Wisconsin enlisted in the U.S. Army two years after his 1967 graduation from Boscobel High School and deployed to Vietnam the following year, spending June 1970 to May 1971 near Chu Lai as a mortar squad leader in E Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Smith modified his M-1965 field jacket with a variety of theater made peace patches he acquired while there, including an oversized “Participant – South East Asia War Games” patch which contains handwritten messages from fellow soldiers and a patch depicting comic strip character Snuffy Smith from whom Smith derived his nickname “Snuffy.” In addition to the patches, Smith’s collection from Vietnam includes a sketch he purchased of himself drawn on red velvet, a peace symbol worn around his neck.
~ Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Poem by Terry
Written by Terry after losing his best Army buddy, Wayne Coble. Wayne was shot by a sniper.
With Wayne Coble
Terry's Army Jacket
The Early Years
Terry was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 25, 1949, to Marion and David Smith. He had one sibling, a half-sister named Patricia who was ten years his senior. Within a month, the family moved to Hibbing, Minnesota. They moved often because of David’s work, mainly settling in small towns like Hibbing and Ishpeming, Michigan.
They moved to Terry’s maternal grandfather’s dairy farm in Madison, then Cleveland, Ohio, then back to Madison.
His grandfather, Major General Smith served in the 32nd Division in the South Pacific during WWII. His great grandfather fought in the Civil War.
He hunted deer with his dad and loved their hunting dog, Shane, and nature. As a child, Terry often played in the woods near their house. “Always playing a part,” said his mom. His sister, Pat, said that when visiting Madison’s Henry Vilas Zoo she was impressed with young Terry's knowledge of the animals, far beyond what was posted on the signs.
He was working at the Badger Power Plant and was enrolled in the University of Wisconsin - Madison for a year and 1⁄2 before enlisting in the Army in 1970.