Virtual Remembrances

Byron Smith

Coach Byron Smith, formerly of Berlin High School (1969–1977) and Wiesbaden High School (1983–1992), died on January 1, 2021. He was 87 years old. Originally from Bellingham, Washington, Byron enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1950 and served aboard the troop transport U.S.S. Noble where he was a signalman and LST driver. He was involved in U.S. Army and Marine amphibious landing operations on the Korean peninsula during the Korean War. Following his discharge from the Navy, Byron attended Western Washington State College where he earned a teaching degree. Following several teaching assignments in Washington, Byron entered the Department of Defense Dependent School system where he and his family lived in Newfoundland, Japan, the Azores, and Germany. An Industrial Arts teacher and coach, Byron was a very successful basketball, football, and track coach. During his tenure at Berlin High School, Coach Smith led the Berlin Cubs boys’ basketball team to 7 consecutive conference championships. Later, as the head football and basketball coach at Wiesbaden High School, Coach Smith led the Wiesbaden Warriors to several football and basketball conference championships. When he retired from teaching in 1992 Coach Smith was one of the winningest basketball coaches in DoDDS history. First retiring to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Byron and Margaret Smith moved to Villa Rica, Georgia in 2005 where they have lived until his death.