Colonel Bernice E. Smith Jr. was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 81, 12 October 1942. His first duty assignment was as a Platoon Leader, 81 MM Mortar Platoon, Company M, 3rd Battalion, 393rd Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Munitions Officer, 393rd Regiment; Supply Officer, 1st Battalion, 393rd Infantry Regiment; Mess Officer, 6901 Reinforcement Battalion; Supply Officer Subsistence Officer, Supply Division, Warton American Technical School, Blackpool, England; Assistant Supply and Transportation Officer; Transportation Officer, 627th Ordnance Ammunition Company aboard ship Pomona Victory; Supply Officer, 3277th Replacement Depot, Statesboro, Georgia; Commander, 493rd Engine Rebuild Company, Claxton, Georgia; Control Group, Detachment 3086, Atlanta, Georgia; Post Ordnance Officer, and Instructor, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Post Ordnance Officer, Georgia Military District, Atlanta, Georgia; Instructor, Branch Director of Training, and S1, Macon U.S. Army Reserve School, Macon, Georgia; S1, Headquarters, 12th United States Army Corps, Atlanta, Georgia.