A valued adviser and trusted insider in the highest echelon of U.S.
military and political leaders, General Walter Bedell Smith began his
public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he
joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an
opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an
essential role in forming the offices of the Combined and Joint Chiefs
of Staff; and after his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D.
Eisenhower