Second Lieutenant Charles David Smith was born in Calgary 5 September 1939, son of Mr and Mrs W.D. Smith, and was educated at Calgary’s Central Public and High Schools where he received his senior matriculation in 1957.

He enrolled in the Canadian Services College, royal Roads, Victoria, BC as an officer cadet on 5 September 1957, graduating  in May 1959, and then attending the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario until May 1961.

He was posted to the 2nd Battalion, The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada in September 1961 and served with that unit as a platoon commander in B Company. At the time of his death he was attached to the Regimental Depot as a Training Platoon Commander.

Dave was a good sportsman. He was a member of the Central High School football team that won the Provincial Championship and was an outstanding player on the school’s basketball and track and field teams. His enthusiasm for sports continued in the Army, where he excelled in basketball and track and field at the Services Colleges and in the unit.

Dave’s untimely death resulted from pneumonia. He was buried in the Military Field of Honour at Calgary’s Burnsland Cemetery.