Two types of Educational Scholarships are available from the National 4th Infantry (IVY) Division Association Scholarship Trust: the E.R. Smith Memorial Scholarship and the Legacy Educational Scholarships (previously named Annual Educational Scholarships).

The E.R. Smith Memorial Scholarship is named in honor of Platoon Sergeant  Elmenlindo R. Smith, C / 2-8th Infantry, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam, 16 February 1967.

Click here for the E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarship Application request form

E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarship - shall be awarded to the child, children, stepchildren or legally adopted child or children of those soldiers of the Fourth Infantry Division who died while serving with the Fourth Infantry Division in Iraq, Afghanistan and/or the War against Terror since September 11, 2001. Membership in this Association is not a condition precedent for application for a Memorial Scholarship. Eligibility to receive a Memorial Scholarship ends at age twenty-five (25). Requests for Memorial Scholarships may be submitted at any time annually using the E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarship Application request form and attach documents that confirm your eligibility.  

Legacy Educational Scholarships – Legacy Educational Scholarships shall be awarded based on Patriotic themed essays submitted by the applicants. The Scholarship Committee will use a blind judging process to select the top essays from all entries. Legacy Educational Scholarship Applications and Essays must be submitted as email attachments prior to the June 15th deadline each year using the current years' application form and attaching your Patriotic themed essay in 250-to-500-words in Microsoft Word format to the Scholarship Committee Secretary, Philip Menendez at pmenendez6@comcast.net. Legacy Educational Scholarship recipients are announced each year during the National Reunion’s Memorial Banquet or at a time and place designated by the Scholarship committee.

Note: The Legacy Educational Scholarship Application form can be Filled-in and saved as a document or printed and used as a write-in form. Use either method to send your Application and your Patriotic Essay in separate email attachments to the Scholarship Committee Secretary. The current year’s Legacy Educational Scholarship Applications may be downloaded from the 4IDA Website or may be found in The Ivy Leaves.

The Patriotic theme for the 2024 Essay is: “What does patriotism mean to me?”

Click here for the 2024 Legacy Educational Scholarship Application form

Legacy Educational Scholarships - a) A regular member of this Association in good standing may apply for a scholarship for his or her child, children or stepchildren, legally adopted child, or children and/or grandchild, grandchildren, or step-grandchildren. b.) To be eligible to receive a Legacy Educational Scholarship, applicants must be a high school graduate and enrolled full-time as an undergraduate student to an accredited college, university, or postsecondary vocational/technical schools within the United States. c.) Regular members submitting winning applications must provide written proof, from the applicable institution, of the student’s acceptance or current enrollment to the Scholarship Committee secretary by December 15th of the year the scholarship was awarded. Failure to submit such written proof in timely fashion shall result in withdrawal of the scholarship.

All Applications for Legacy Educational Scholarships must follow the Scholarship Committee’s guidelines. Incomplete Legacy Educational Scholarship Applications will not be considered.

A regular member in good standing would include: All persons who, at any time, honorably served in, or who are now serving in, the Fourth Infantry Division or who honorably served in, or who are now serving in units assigned or attached to the Fourth Infantry Division are eligible for regular membership, with your appropriate membership fees paid.

The Scholarship Committee will award Legacy Educational Scholarships from the trust per the Legacy Educational Scholarships established policy. The number of scholarships and the dollar amount awarded each year will be determined by the committee based on the Scholarship Trust Fund balance. All eligible E.R. Smith Memorial Scholarships shall be honored from the trust.

The National 4th Infantry (IVY) Division Association established a 501(c)(3) scholarship trust August 29, 1969. The trust agreement sets forth guidelines for a trust to be used exclusively for defraying the cost of education to accredited college, university, or postsecondary vocational/technical schools within the United States. A Scholarship Committee, not to exceed six members, headed by the National President of the Association shall direct the distribution of scholarships. Contributions to the trust are tax deductible; consult your tax advisor for the proper treatment of these donations.

At the time of its creation during the peak of the Vietnam War, the primary focus of the trust was helping with the educational needs of the children of fallen 4ID soldiers. At this the fund was very successful helping many children with thousands of dollars in aid. In 1996, the trust fund had completed all eligible recipients of the Vietnam Era.

Since the completion of the eligible Vietnam era recipients the trust has been organized to award two types of scholarships - E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarship and Legacy Educational Scholarships (previously named Annual Educational Scholarships).

Educational Scholarship Notice: By submitting the Application for an Educational Scholarship, you agree to the terms and conditions set forth by the Scholarship Committee.  E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarships and Legacy Educational Scholarship awards are exclusively for defraying the cost of education to accredited college, university, or postsecondary vocational/technical schools within the United States. The number and the dollar amount of Scholarships awarded to E. R. Smith Memorial Scholarship recipients and Legacy Scholarships will be determined by the Scholarship Committee based on the Scholarship Program guidelines and announced in their report at the annual Business Meeting. Applications must be emailed to the Secretary of the Scholarship Committee before the June 15 deadline each year using the appropriate form. Consult the Scholarship Committee or the Constitution and Bylaws for a complete list of requirements.