General Jacob Edward Smart (May 31, 1909 – November 12, 2006) was a

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

who served in

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era.

Early life

Smart was born in

Ridgeland, South Carolina Ridgeland is a town in Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census, a 7.1% decrease from 2010. It has been the county seat of Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. As defin ...

, the son of a railroad conductor, and was educated in the public schools of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and Georgia, and at

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mil ...

Marion, Alabama Marion is a city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...

Military career

Smart graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1931 as an Army flying officer and entered flight training with the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. He later became a flying instructor. When the United States entered World War II, Smart, a colonel at that time, was chief of staff for flight training at the Army Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C..

World War II

Smart joined the Air Corps Advisory Council in July 1942, serving on the staff of General "Hap" Arnold, the chief of staff of the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. In this position, he was involved with the planning of the invasion of Europe and participated in the meeting between U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 1943. He received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for his services. Smart was assigned to

9th Bomber Command The 19th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1988. During World War II, the unit was designated ...

in the Middle East in 1943. He was the architect of

Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...

, in which 178

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

s from five bombardment groups of the 9th Army Air Force flew a 2,400-mile round trip from bases near

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

to perform a low-level bombing raid on the oil refineries at Ploieşti,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, on 1 August 1943. Nearly 40% of the oil plant was destroyed, but 55 of the American planes were lost and another 50 severely damaged. He received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

; five other airmen received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, the most for any single military action. Despite its success, the plant was repaired and back to its original operating capacity within a month. Smart attended the Army-Navy Staff College, graduating in February 1944. He then joined the

15th Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

in the Mediterranean Theater, commanding the 97th Bomb Group in Italy. Despite his knowledge of top secret issues, such as plans for the Normandy invasion, he was allowed to fly missions over enemy territory. On his 29th mission, May 10, 1944, Smart was flying a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

on a mission to bomb aircraft factories near Wiener Neustadt,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and exploded. He was thrown from the wreck in mid-air but managed to open his parachute despite the wounds he had received from the explosion. He landed and was immediately captured by the Germans and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

until freed by the forces of General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's Army on April 29, 1945. His captors knew he was important and did their best to extract secrets from him but Smart was able to evade all their questions. Upon his repatriation to the US, Smart returned to duty as a top aide to General Arnold, continuing as the U.S. Air Force was formed in 1947. He graduated from the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

in June 1950, and commanded

32nd Air Division The 32d Air Division (32d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last active with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force at Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969. The div ...

Stewart Air Force Base Stewart may refer to: People *Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histor ...

in New York, and was later vice commander of Eastern Air Defense Force.

Postwar career

During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Smart served as deputy for operations in the Far East Air Force where he showed his skill as a strategist. He also flew several sorties, and was injured. He returned to Washington, D.C., in June 1955, as assistant vice chief of staff at U.S. Air Force Headquarters, and became commander of the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, in September 1959. He became vice commander of

in January 1960, based at

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...

. He served as Commander U.S. Forces in Japan from August 1961; and then as Commander of the

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

from August 1963. He became Deputy Commander of the

U.S. European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia ...

in July 1964, and retired in July 1966.

Later life

Following his retirement, Smart served as an administrator with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

for several years. He eventually returned to live in Ridgeland. Smart died in his sleep from congestive heart failure at the age of 97 on Sunday, November 12, 2006, and was buried the following week on Thursday November 16, 2006. He was divorced in 1946. He had four children; three daughters and a son. He was predeceased by two daughters.

Awards and decorations

Smart received numerous decorations including:

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross,

and four awards of the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

. He was also awarded the decoration of Ulchi by the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

, and was an honorary

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Distinguished Service Cross

Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Colonel (Air Corps) Jacob Edward Smart, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commanding Officer of the 97th Bombardment Group (H), Fifteenth Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 10 May 1944, against a vitally important and heavily defended aircraft production center in Wiener-Neustadt, Austria. Colonel Smart remained with a ship damaged by a direct hit until he was assured that his group would accurately bomb the target. Leaving the protective formation to return the crippled ship to its base, Colonel Smart displayed great courage in remaining with the ship when its condition would have warranted abandonment. Colonel Smart's courage, resourcefulness and determination led to his selection to lead an attack on another vital target in the same area on 10 May 1944. With the skill and courage that he had displayed on twenty-seven raids during the period of 18 March 1944 to 10 May 1944, Colonel Smart again was successful in bringing his group through unusually severe weather conditions and augmented aircraft defense to the beginning of the bomb run when his ship was observed to explode. The gallant, intrepid leadership displayed by Colonel Smart in accomplishing his assignment regardless of hazard or opposition upholds the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 15th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

References

*''Forged In Fire'', DeWitt Copp, Doubleday, 1982 (episodes in the book trace Gen. Smart's service during World War II)

External links

Obituary
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', 16 November 2006
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 5 December 2006 * * U.S. Air Force Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Jacob 1909 births 2006 deaths United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces generals United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War World War II prisoners of war held by Germany American prisoners of war in World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Air Medal Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea) Marion Military Institute alumni United States Military Academy alumni People from Ridgeland, South Carolina Military personnel from South Carolina Aviators from South Carolina