Marion Hartzog Smoak (July 8, 1916May 4, 2020) was an American attorney and politician who served as

Chief of Protocol of the United States In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States, and th ...

under President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

from 1972 to 1974. Smoak previously served as a member of the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

and was a member of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's presidential campaign staff and transition team in 1980.

Early life and education

A native of

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...

, Smoak received a bachelor's degree in English and history from

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

in 1938 and a law degree from the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in 1941.

Military service

Commissioned into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, Smoak served in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...

in both the Pacific and European Theaters during World War II, then taught military law at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. From 1948 to 1952 he was assigned to the Judge Advocate General's Office of the U.S. Occupation Forces in Japan, where his duties included overseeing war crimes trials of Japanese military members; this was followed by tours with the

82d Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, during which he qualified for the Master Parachutist Badge by making 58 jumps. Smoak next served in the International Affairs Division of the Army Staff Judge Advocate's Office at the Pentagon and also as a Legislative Affairs Officer supporting the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

and the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

; he retired in 1961 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Career

After a stint in a private law practice in Aiken County, South Carolina, in 1964 Smoak ran for the

, losing by less than 1% of the vote; elected on his second try in 1966, he became one of the first five Republicans to serve in that body since Reconstruction. Smoak served on several committees, including Agriculture, Atomic Energy, Veterans Affairs, and the State Constitutional Revision Committee. In March 1970, Smoak was appointed Deputy Chief of Protocol at the

. He was named Acting Chief in June 1972 and given the rank of Ambassador in September 1972. He was confirmed as Chief in 1974. During his tenure, he oversaw several major events, including the state funerals of Presidents

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, and state visits by Soviet Premier

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

and

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. In 1980, Smoak was named co-chairman of the Committee on Finance for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, then served on Reagan's State Department transition team. He subsequently returned to private law practice at the Washington, D.C. firm of Shipley, Smoak and Henry.

Personal life

Smoak was married to Mary Frances Meister Smoak (1920–2015) for 56 years. They had three children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. At age 102, he maintained homes in Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. As of May 2019, he was the oldest living graduate of The Citadel. Smoak died on May 4, 2020, aged 103, in Palm Beach, Florida.

References

External links

Marion H. Smoak Papers
at South Carolina Political Collections, University of South Carolina
Council of American Ambassadors Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoak, Marion Hartzog 1916 births 2020 deaths American men centenarians People from Aiken, South Carolina Military personnel from South Carolina South Carolina lawyers Republican Party South Carolina state senators The Citadel alumni University of South Carolina School of Law alumni Chiefs of protocol of the United States Lawyers from Washington, D.C. United States Military Academy faculty 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly