Evans City honors veteran of the year
EVANS CITY — David Smith, Butler County’s Veteran of the Year for 2022, was honored by borough council Monday night.
“Those of us who have been veterans, we made a promise to uphold the Constitution of the United States, we made a promise, we now have a promise to those veterans,” Smith, a Marine, said.
Near the start of the meeting, Smith and his wife, Mary, were presented with four Veteran Banners by Mayor Dean Zinkhann.
The two large banners will be hung in Connoquenessing in the spring and two small banners were given to the Smiths to take home.
Smith served in the Marine Corps for 34 years after he enlisted at just 16 years old in 1965. By the time he turned 18, he was deployed to Vietnam.
“It is an honor that can’t be described, because I (thought that I) was just a plain old veteran,” Smith said. “But my attitude changed a lot when I started working with the VA and joining the organizations. Just to be called the Veteran of the Year is ranked right up there with any of the highest awards I got in the Marine Corps.”
During his service, Smith was deployed to Vietnam twice, where he was injured both times and earned two Purple Hearts as well as multiple ribbons for his service in Vietnam. During these deployments, Smith also lost close friends he made in the military.
Speaking with Smith, it is plain to see how important it is to him to care for and help his fellow veterans.
“We now have an obligation to keep our promise to them and be there for them,” Smith said. “We can’t forget them. If we forget them, we lose them.”
For those interested in helping veterans in their communities, Smith urges folks to go to the Butler Department of Veterans Affairs and sign up to volunteer.
Smith said the VA has been working on improving its services, including expanding its suicide hotline, group services that focus on socializing or teaching a skill such as music and its health services by aiding veterans living with the effects of Agent Orange and PTSD.
“When you have PTSD, you may leave Vietnam, but Vietnam doesn’t leave you,” Smith said. “You’ll be dreaming, something you’ll smell, some noise or something that will take you back.”
In addition to volunteering with the VA, Smith also is commandant of the Bantam Marine Detachment 743 of the Marine Corps League, first vice officer of Lyndora American Legion 778 and the Purple Hearts Society.
As long as Smith is able, he will continue to donate his time to helping local veterans by driving them where they need to go and by being a listening ear and a compassionate heart.
“A lot of times they just want to talk to somebody that can relate to them,” Smith said. “All I’m doing is sitting there listening to them, and I can relate to them. It doesn’t matter if they are Army, Air Force, Navy; we all did the same thing. The only difference was our uniforms and we took the same oath to support and defend the Constitution.”
