Delvin Wellington Smith Jr.

CDR. Delvin W. Smith Jr. USN (Ret) of Murrieta, California passed away on September 13, 2023. He was born on March 03, 1929. He graduated from Danforth High School in Danforth, Maine in 1946. He enlisted in the Navy in 1947, entered the Naval Academy in 1949 via the NAPS program and graduated in 1953. His first assignment after graduating was the Northampton (CLC-1). He was selected for submarine service and graduated from Submarine School in June 1955 and served in various positions on the Sea Poacher (SS406) and the Amberjack (SS522) before attending Post Graduate School in Monterey, California. His next tour of duty was as a Tactics instructor at Submarine School. He then served as XO aboard the Hardhead (SS365) and then attended SSBN Navigator School in DamNeck, Virginia and then to Sam Houston (SSBN609) (Gold), where he made four deterrent patrols from Holy Lock, Scotland. He then served as director of the FBM Training Department Submarine School in New London. His next tour of duty was XO on the jumbo oiler Mispillion (A0105), where he made two deployments to Vietnam. While serving as XO, the ship was awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Citation and CDR. Smith was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal (with combat V). He was then assigned to the Staff ComFair Quonset and after two years was selected for duty on CNO staff (OP-986F) as head of the Navigation and Geo Physics section, where he served over three years. During this time he made significant contributions to the joint Air Force effort in the development of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS). He retired from the Navy in August 1974. After retirement, CDR. Smith worked at Magnavox as a program manager on several civil and military programs and retired in 1994. He is survived by two sons, two daughters, one granddaughter, and one great-granddaughter.