Charles Smith Jr., 95; General Awarded Legion of Merit

Brig. Gen. Charles Coburn Smith Jr., a career military man who was honored with the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star during three decades of service, died in his sleep Nov. 7 at the age of 95. He had been living at an assisted living facility in Seattle.

Smith was a commanding officer during World War II in North Africa, Italy and Austria. After the war, he served in the U.S. Embassy in Paris. He was stationed in South Korea when he was promoted to brigadier general in 1956.

Born in Lucena in the Philippines, where his father was serving in the Philippine constabulary, Coburn and his parents returned to the United States when he was 10.

He attended high school in Oakland, and entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at 20. He had already served two years in the California National Guard.

Smith retired from military life in 1961 and worked as director of fund-raising for Lakeside School, a private academy in Seattle whose best-known graduates include Microsoft Corp. co-founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates.