Marion H. Smoak
Class of 1938
Hometown: Aiken, SC
- Smoak was appointed Deputy Chief of Protocol at the United States Department of State in 1970. He was named Acting Chief of Protocol in June 1972, with the rank of Ambassador and confirmed as Chief of Protocol of the United States in 1974.
- Smoak earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1941, before entering the U. S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps during World War II. He served in both the Pacific and European Theaters during the war. From 1948 to 1952 he was assigned to the Occupation Forces in Japan where he oversaw war crimes trials. Smoak later served with the 82nd and 11th Army Airborne qualifying for the prestigious Master Parachutist Badge. His military service included serving as Legislative Affairs Officer to the U.S. Congress, Department of Justice and Department of State. He retired from military service as a lieutenant colonel in 1961.
- In 1966 Smoak was elected to the South Carolina State Senate and became one of the first 5 Republicans to serve in that body since Reconstruction.