A native Palacian, Jimmie Smith was born in the City by the Sea on June 29, 1927, to Arthur (Dutch) and Esther Smith He was a 14-year-old student when the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

At the age of 17, Jimmie enlisted in the Navy as a seaman recruit in 1945. Following boot camp, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor, where he was assigned to the A.B.R.D. Re-Shipping Depot.

Smith received his discharge from the Navy, with the rank of Petty Officer, Third Class, at Camp Wallace, Texas in 1946.

Smith, who will celebrate his 75th birthday this Saturday, and his wife‹‹the former Betty Jo Teutsch of Palacios, are the parents of two daughters, Beverly Ann Garcia, owner of the Pier Drive-In in Palacios; and Cindy Linn Reese, a dental hygienist at Kerrville.

HAPPY family gathering: Jimmie Smith and wife Betty,
with daughter, Cindy, and son-in-law, Doug Reese, in August, 2001.

FOR OTHER FEATURES ON VETERANS.....Click Here