NEW BETHLEHEM – As the Veterans of Foreign Wars celebrates 125 years on a national level, the local New Bethlehem Post is not only celebrating the addition of a new enclosed deck, but a new name to honor the man who brought the organization back from the brink following the Flood of 1996.
The name of Larry C. Smith was recently added to the name of VFW Post 415, which is now named in memory of both Russell J. Hilliard and Smith.
“He’s the reason we’re here,” Post 415 quartermaster Heather Truitt said this week about Smith, who died in March 2023 at the age of 87. “He saved the VFW when there was nothing. There wouldn’t be a VFW here.”
Originally from the Rimersburg area, Smith later lived in Oak Ridge, and was a member of both the New Bethlehem VFW and American Legion posts.
He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from Aug. 16, 1954 to Aug. 15, 1957, when he moved into the Army Reserves where he served until August 1962.
Truitt and Post 415 secretary Pam Gracey said that Smith was the driving force in not only rebuilding the VFW club following the flood of July 1996, but in the many improvements to the Broad Street facility over the years since.
“Smitty went and got donations and loans, and got the VFW up and running again,” Gracey said of Smith’s work after the flood. “He started it back up from nothing.”
But his work didn’t end there. Truitt said Smith did a lot of the work on the building himself, and even worked for years as bartender for no pay in order to save the club money.
He was post commander for 26 years, during which time he oversaw the installation of the large statue at the front of the building, as well as many other improvements.
Following his death, VFW leadership began working with the national organization to get approval for the name change in Smith’s honor.
“He built a great foundation for us to carry on,” Truitt said, noting that the local post is now able to donate thousands of dollars each month to local groups, including youth sports, fire departments, the historical society and more. “He set us up to succeed.”
That string of success recently allowed the post to christen another new addition to the facility — an enclosed deck area at the back of the building, facing Red Bank Creek.
“It has two big garage doors that can be opened up,” Gracey said. “You can sit out there, watch the creek, watch TV, and just enjoy.”
A new nonsmoking area for the club, she added that deck was finished just in time for the return of the Pumpkin Chunkin’ event prior to Halloween.
“We’re just very thankful he did all that he did,” Truitt said of Smith’s legacy.