DOB/DOD: September 3, 1958 (Meriden, CT) – October 23, 1983; 25 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Footit Drive, Middletown
ENLISTMENT: December 23, 1975; discharged September 11, 1979; enlisted again on August 11, 1981
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0321, Recon Marine; 151, Administrative Clerk
UNIT: Charlie Company, Second Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Marine Division assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 24th Marine Amphibious Unit, Camp Lejeune, NC
FAMILY: Born to Joseph K. Jr. [Navy veteran, 1951-1954] (1933-2025) and Angela “Dolly” J. Maciejaszek Smith (1934-1998). One brother, Joseph K. III (1957-).
Xavier High School (Middletown, CT) Class of 1976, senior yearbook
From The Hartford Courant on November 8, 1983
SMITH. Staff Sgt. Thomas G. Smith, 25, of Footit Drive, Middletown, died October 23 in the terrorist bomb blast in Beirut, Lebanon. He was born in Meriden, son of Joseph and Angela (Maciejaszek) Smith Jr. of Middletown. A 1976 graduate of Xavier High School, Middletown, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after graduation. He was a member of the Charlie Company Second Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Marine Division. Besides his parents, he is survived by a brother, Joseph Smith III of Middletown, and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Helen Smith of Pringle, Pennsylvania. A military funeral will be on Thursday, 10 a.m., in St.
Mary Church, Hubbard St., Middletown. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Middletown. Calling hours at the Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver St., Middletown, are on Wednesday, 2-4 and 6-9 p.m. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Staff Sgt. Thomas G. Smith Scholarship Fund, Xavier High School, c/o Richard Feitel, Randolph Road, Middletown 06457.
From XavierHighSchool.org
Staff SERGEANT Thomas G. Smith Memorial Scholarship
Almost 40 Years After His Death, 1976 Grad Still Touches Lives Of Many
“When I take my daily walks, I frequently do a loop at St. Mary’s cemetery and pass his gravesite. There is a picture of Tommy on the headstone in his Marine uniform. Never fails to bring back memories of what a great young man he was,” says Rich Feitel, the former Xavier teacher, coach, and director of alumni and development.
Staff Sergeant Thomas G. Smith, Xavier Class of 1976, died in service to our country on October 23, 1983. Lebanese terrorists drove a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. Smith had reenlisted after already having served a tour of duty overseas for three years, including 18 months in Beirut.
For years at Xavier, students have been the recipients of the Staff Sergeant Thomas Smith ’76 Memorial Scholarship. It is one of many endowed scholarships at the school, this one, like some others, borne out of tragedy. The first scholarship was awarded in June 1985; it recognizes “a student entering his senior year who best exemplifies the spirit, values, and qualities” of Smith.
Smith was a member of the track and field team at Xavier.
“Tommy was a real nice kid,” Feitel remembers. “Very quiet and unassuming. He was a sprinter and usually ran the 220, 440, and relays. You could always count on him to give his best effort in any event in which he participated. That’s why Coach [Bob] Michalski and I trusted him so much to be part of the 4 x 220 and mile relay teams.
“I remember that after joining the Marines, he would come back to Xavier to visit when he was home. Always wore his uniform. He was so proud to be a Marine. Everyone at Xavier was devastated to hear that he was killed in the attack on the Marine headquarters in Beirut. One of the saddest days of my life.
“Shortly thereafter, his dad, mom, and brother Joe met with me to establish the scholarship fund. Many members of the Class of 1976 made initial contributions, as did many friends and family members. It was a wonderful tribute to Tommy, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.”
Smith went to St. Mary School and played Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, and CYO basketball. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduation from Xavier and was a member of Charlie Company, Second Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Marine Division.
In 1994, the Thomas G. Smith Park in the Westfield section of Middletown was dedicated. The park offers active and passive recreation, from a picnic pavilion to a playground for children, to nature trails and athletic fields.
Now, all these years later, so many students have benefited from the scholarship fund, and so many families and children have built memories from days at the park.
“I just can’t say it in words, how much love we feel for everyone involved,” Smith’s mother, Angela, said about the park dedication ceremony in a 1994 Hartford Courant story. “And to know that everybody’s going to remember Tommy, not just us … that’s the greatest feeling.”
Namesake of Thomas G. Smith Park, 526 Country Club Road, Middletown, Connecticut. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
From the Hartford Courant on May 9, 1994
MIDDLETOWN’S NEWEST PARK OPENS
After more than four years of work and almost $2 million, the Thomas G. Smith Memorial Park officially opened this weekend in the Westfield section of town.
When Mayor Thomas J. Serra dedicated the 80-acre park Saturday morning, he praised more than its open spaces and fine sugar maples. The important thing, he said, was to commemorate a Middletown resident who was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, more than a decade ago.
Serra dedicated the city’s newest and largest park by unveiling a memorial marker and planting a tree in memory of Thomas G. Smith, a young Marine sergeant from Westfield who was killed in a terrorist bombing of the U.S. command post in Beirut in 1983.
Among those at the ceremony were members of Smith’s family and his friends, parents of other soldiers killed in the 1983 attack, and several Marines.
“I just can’t say it in words, how much love we feel for everyone involved,” Smith’s mother, Angela, said about the ceremony. “And to know that everybody’s going to remember Tommy, not just us – that’s the greatest feeling.”
Described as competitive and determined, Smith was a dedicated athlete who joined the Marines in 1976 after graduating from Xavier High School. After several promotions and tours of duty in London and Beirut, he joined the 2nd Marine Reconnaissance Unit and returned to Lebanon in April 1983.
On October 23, 1983, he died in the bombing with 241 other Marines. He was 25.
On Saturday, local and state officials presented Angela Smith and her husband, John, with plaques and certificates commemorating their son’s achievements. Representatives from Thomas Smith’s Marine unit drove from North Carolina to present his parents with a special gift – a wooden boat paddle wrapped in parachute cord.
Pablo Arroyo, a close friend of Smith’s and a survivor of the Beirut bombing, said paddles are presented as going-away presents to Marines when they leave the reconnaissance unit “to paddle their way through civilian life.”
The true memorial, the Smiths said, is the park named after their son. The park’s combination of sports fields and nature trails, friends and family agreed, is a fitting tribute to an energetic young man who knew the area well.
“I knew Tommy well growing up,” said Father Stanley J. Szczapa, formerly of St. Mary Church. “I can hear his voice echoing through here, because these are the fields where he used to play.”
Proclamation
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
Senate Resolution No. 24 Page 1
Referred to Committee on NO COMMITTEE LCO No. 4866
Introduced by SEN. LARSON, 3rd DIST.; SEN. DIBELLA, 1st DIST.
SEN. EADS, 30th DIST.; SEN. BALDUCCI, 9th DIST.
SEN. MUSTONE, 13th DIST.
General Assembly
February Session, A.D., 1994
RESOLUTION HONORING THE DEDICATION OF THE SSGT. THOMAS G. SMITH
PARK IN MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.
Resolved by the Senate:
WHEREAS, SSgt. Thomas G. Smith, a member of the United States Marine Corps, a life-long resident of Middletown, died on October 23, 1983; and
WHEREAS, SSgt. Smith died in the line of duty while serving his country, protecting the U.S. Marine Command Post in Beirut, Lebanon; and
WHEREAS, the City of Middletown dedicates a park on May 7, 1994, in his memory.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Senate expresses its sincere and heartfelt condolences on the loss of SSgt Thomas G. Smith, and is proud that the City of Middletown is dedicating a park in his name.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of SSgt. Thomas G. Smith as an expression of pride for his service and honor to his country.
Co-Sponsors: REP. SERRA, 33rd DIST.
Smitty was a hard-charging, gung-ho Marine. We served together at the US embassy in London. He was my friend and brother. Every Memorial Day, I remember SSgt TG Smith. Semper Fi, devil dog.
– Ricky Woodall, May 25, 2020
Buried in Calvary Cemetery, 307 Bow Lane, Middletown, Connecticut; Section A. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
END