TAHLEQUAH, Okla.— During the April meeting of the Council of the Cherokee Nation, Cherokee veteran Lee Roy Smith was recognized by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs S. Joe Crittenden, acknowledging his service and sacrifice to this country.
Smith entered the U.S. Navy March 23, 1966. He completed his camp at Great Lakes Naval Station. He was then sent to Davisville Road Island for construction school, where he learned carpentry, masonry, steel building and later, bridge and pier building.
Smith was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 6 (MCB-6) in Vietnam. After completing 30 days of military training at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, he was in Vietnam at Theater Army Movement Control Agency (TAMCA) for nine months with a group of 16 Construction Battalions (CB). This is where they built a permanent masonry structure for a local civilian hospital and a barrack for a thousand troops.
Smith returned to the states on Easter day of 1968 to Camp Lejeune for military training to prepare for the next deployment to Vietnam in August of 1968. However, he was given order to report to Roosevelt (Rosy) Roads, Puerto Ricco to build a new CB camp and a Naval and SEAL Team Camp as well. Smith was honorably discharged on April 21, 1969, with a rank of Petty Officer Second Class. His medals include the National Offense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medals.
“I appreciate this,” said Smith. “I love the Cherokee Nation. I do everything I can for it every day.”
Each month the Cherokee Nation recognizes Cherokee service men and women for their sacrifices and to demonstrate the high regard in which all veterans are held by the tribe. Native Americans, including Cherokees, are thought to have more citizens serving per capita than any other ethnic group according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
To nominate a veteran who is a Cherokee Nation citizen, call 918-772-4166.