SAN DIEGO -- If it benefitted veterans in San Diego, it was a safe bet John Smith was a part of it.

Smith died at his Spring Valley home over the weekend at the age of 62. During a memorial service Tuesday, many friends and fellow veterans recalled Smith's life with fondness.

"If I could say anything about John is that he was genuine. He walked the talk. He was truly a veteran's veteran," said Phil Landis, executive director of the Veteran's Village.

At age 20, Smith, a New York native, found himself in Vietnam as a combat medic with the U.S. Army's 1st Air Cavalry. Wounded three times, he would recover and eventually move to San Diego in the early 1980s.

"And when he saw all of our veterans on the street, to see so many of them I think that John was moved deeply. And when John Smith was moved, he moved a lot of people," said Stand Down co-founder Dr. Jon Nachison.

In 1988, he was instrumental in organizing the three-day event for homeless veterans called Stand Down. He followed that up with helping what is now the Veteran's Village get started.

Longtime friend Rev. George Walker Smith said there was just no stopping John Smith when it came to veterans.

"He almost made a veteran out of me (laughter)," said the reverend.

For years, Smith was the announcer at the Veteran's Day parade that he fought to keep as an annual event.

When the doors to the Veteran's Home in Chula Vista finally opened, Smith was among the first in line to assist.

"You didn't get away with anything around John. He was always pushing, driving to get things done and have fun doing it," said Purple Heart veteran Joe Cioken.

Those who knew him summed it up this way: Smith left San Diego a better place than when he found it.