Editing Walter Bedell Smith (section)

==Later Life and Business Career==
After resigning from government, Smith entered the private sector, joining UFCO’s board in 1955, a move criticized for its conflict of interest given his PBSuccess role. He also served as vice chairman of American Machine and Foundry (AMF) and held directorships at Martin Marietta and other firms, amassing wealth. In 1957, he was appointed to the President’s Citizen Advisors on the Mutual Security Program, advising on foreign aid, and in 1960, he served on the President’s Committee to Study the U.S. Military Assistance Program. Health issues, including chronic ulcers and heart problems, limited his later activities.

Smith married Mary Eleanor Cline in 1917, a childhood friend from Indianapolis, and they had one daughter, Eleanor Bedell Smith. Known for his blunt, often abrasive style—Eisenhower called him a “human bulldozer”—Smith was fiercely loyal but lacked the polish of peers like Dulles. He enjoyed fishing, golf, and reading military history, maintaining a low profile in retirement. Smith died of a heart attack on August 9, 1961, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., at age 65. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.