Smith, Chesterfield H. 1917-2003.

Smith combined a very successful private practice of law with a remarkable career working in the public interest. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a close friend of Smith, said about him, "He has devoted his extraordinary talent and enormous energy to the improvement of the legal profession - to making the profession more honorable, more responsive to the people law and lawyers serve. He is, in sum, among the brightest, boldest, bravest, all-around most effective lawyers ever bred in Florida and the U.S.A." His longtime friend Sandy D'Alemberte said above all Smith was forthright: "Whether he was with you or against you, it was always candid. When he believed something, he wasn't frightened to say it. A lot of his close friends were really conservative. But he was very outspoken and didn't trim his sails around people he knew didn't agree with him. He didn't have a sneaky bone in him. He would tell you what he was going to do. He would tell you what he thought you ought to do." In 1975, Time named Smith among 35 "non-candidates truly qualified to be president of the United States." Smith had very high standards, for himself and his lawyers, and believed that it is the obligation of lawyers to serve the public will.

Smith was born on July 28, 1917 in Arcadia, Florida, to Grace Gilbert Smith and Cook Hall Smith. His mother was a social columnist for the local newspaper and his father was an electrical contractor who became head of the Desoto County School System. Growing up in Arcadia, Smith, then addressed by his middle name Harvey, was a soda jerk at his uncle's drug store. His uncle, a state legislator, influenced Smith's interest in politics. In 1935, Smith moved away from Arcadia to attend the University of Florida. He was in and out of school, dropping out for a semester to make money to return. After receiving an Associate in Arts degree Smith joined the Florida National Guard which was mobilized for active duty during World War II in November 1940. He was assigned to the 94th Infantry Division of George Patton's 3rd Army and served as a captain for most of the war. His unit was sent into Normandy a month after D-Day and surrounded German submarine stations for approximately four months. They were then moved into Luxembourg and took part in the Battle of the Bulge. After the battle, the troops crossed the Rhine River and occupied the Ruhr Valley area until the war ended. In Germany and later Czechoslovakia, Smith served in the occupation forces. When he heard of conditions at a concentration camp, Smith ordered the camp's commanders to vacate their homes and move into the camps, while the camp prisoners moved into the commanders' houses. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of major and a Bronze Star. On his way back home he won $4,000 playing craps. His winnings and the G.I. Bill financed his postwar education. He attended law school at the University of Florida, and graduated at the top of his class in only two years, in 1948.

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