1LT Richard T. Smock, USA
Class of 1950
Lt Smock was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for \extraordinary heroism\ posthumously for action against Chinese armed forces in Korea on 6 June 1951. As a company commander of a US infantry unit at Cholly-Dong, North Korea he sacrificed his own life as the lone rear-guard infantryman buying time for his entire company to escape to safety when the unit was surprised by an overwhelming assault force of Chinese Red soldiers. Smock gave his life before his 24th birthday and had already fought with the 82nd Airborne in the Ardennes and in Germany in WW11. He had enlisted as a private in 1943 and separated from service in 1946, enrolled at The Citadel and completed \Knob Year\, then was accepted into OCS and became the 1st OCS graduate to be directly appointed into the regular army with a regular commission. He volunteered, and completed, paratrooper jump school for the 2nd time, then volunteered to be the only American Officer to lead the all-North Korean guerilla force (the Bene