Jack Smith, 58: ABC News Reporter, A&E Host

Jack Smith, an Emmy award-winning reporter for ABC News who covered the Iran-Contra affair, the fall of the Berlin Wall and, more recently, technology in the Silicon Valley, died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer. He was 58.

Smith joined ABC in 1976 and served as its Washington correspondent from 1980 until he left in 2001. For nine years, he was the principal correspondent for This Week With David Brinkley.

Before joining the Washington bureau, Smith was ABC's Paris correspondent. He also covered the conflict in Beirut during the Israeli siege of the Lebanese city in 1982.

Smith, born in Paris, was a decorated U.S. combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Years later, he returned to Vietnam to provide special reports for ABC's Nightline and Day One.

He also hosted programs for the A&E cable network series Biography and documentaries for the Discovery Channel and Learning Channel.