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Daniel
Stevenson
Smart
KIA (WWI)
1890-08-24

–

1918-10-15

Born:

Schoharie

, 

New York

Home:

Cambridge

, 

New York

Buried: 

Cambridge

, 

New York

Cemetery:

Woodlands Cemetery (Cenotaph)

The son of a minister, Daniel Smart made his profession of faith at the Reformed Church of Schoharie, New York, at the age of ten. His preparatory studies were at the Rutgers Preparatory School of Cambridge, New York, and he then attended Amherst College where he ran track, played baseball, and was a member of the Christian Association Cabinet. He graduated from Amherst in 1914, and entered the seminary at Princeton, where he pursued further studies for two years. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister by the United Presbyterian Church of Argyle on July 25, 1917. He was secretary of the Y.M.C.A. at Rutgers College from 1916 to 1917, and then entered the Y.M.C.A.’s war work as Secretary at Fort Ethan Allen, Governor’s Island, New York. In 1918 he entered the Chaplain’s Training School at Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky, and was commissioned a U.S. Army chaplain. He was sent to the battlefield in France in August, and was killed in action two months later.

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps)

    Regiment:

    328th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    82d Division, American Expeditionary Forces

    Action Date:

    October 15, 1918
    Headquarters, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, Citation Orders No. 1 (1918)

    By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps) Daniel Stevenson Smart, United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Chaplain Smart distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with the 328th Infantry Regiment, 82d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action in France, on 15 October 1918. In a break in fighting near Saint-Juvin and Sommerance, Chaplain Smart and a Red Cross worker were bringing tobacco and chocolate to the troops at the front line when they found some men recently killed in action. They began to ready them for burial and, as Chaplain Smart pulled out his prayerbook, a shell exploded nearby. He subsequently died in the hospital.