Perry McCoy Smith Jr. (born December 16, 1934, in West Point, N.Y.) is a retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. He is a teacher, author and TV and radio commentator. Smith was born at West Point into a military family and travelled extensively throughout his youth. His family was stationed in Hawaii when he was six years old. On the morning of December 7, 1941 he was riding in the back of an Army truck on his way to Sunday school. He watched as the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

took place. He lived in Italy following

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 ...

, where his father served in the British-American military government of Italy. He attended twelve different schools in the U.S. and overseas and graduated in 1952 from Highland Falls High School in New York. He attended 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 ...

at West Point (USMA) following high school. Smith played intercollegiate lacrosse and was named as a member of the second team All American lacrosse team. Smith graduated from West Point in 1956. Smith went on to earn his Ph.D. in international relations from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1967. He also 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 1971.

Military career

Smith is a retired major general who served for 30 years in the

. Much of his military career was spent as a pilot in fighter aircraft. Smith flew 180 combat missions over Laos and North Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He commanded the F-15 equipped 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, served as the top Air Force Planner and was commandant of the

from 1983 to 1986.

Post-military

Smith settled in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

in 1990. Since then, he has been active in many community activities including raising funds for Saint Paul's Church, the Fisher House, the Kroc Center, the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, the Heritage Academy and the

Augusta Museum of History The Augusta Museum of History is a history museum located in Augusta, Georgia, U.S. The museum was founded in 1937 to preserve and share the history of Augusta and its surrounding area. On display are numerous artifacts, images, and dioramas that s ...

. From 1991 to 1998 he served as a military analyst for CNN. He resigned as analyst in protest over CNN's 1998 nerve gas special "Valley of Death" which claimed

sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB G-series, "B"">Nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for Nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound.Operation Tailwind Operation Tailwind was a covert incursion by a small unit of United States Army and allied Montagnard forces into southeastern Laos during the Vietnam War, conducted from 11 to 14 September 1970. Its purpose was to create a diversion for a Roya ...

. After Smith's departure from CNN, he served on contract with NBC, MSNBC, CBS TV and CBS radio. Smith was a board member of the Augusta Kiwanis Club, and a successful recruiter of new members. Smith currently serves as president emeritus of the board of trustees for the

. Smith was a frequent op-ed contributor to the ''Augusta Chronicle''. Smith is frequently an op-ed contributor to the ''Augusta Business Daily''.

Personal life

Smith is the son of Perry McCoy Smith Sr. and Mary Emily (Porter) Smith. His father was a 1922 West Point graduate who retired from the Army in 1954 as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Smith is married to Connor Cleckley Dyess. Dyess is the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Dyess. Jimmie Dyess, a United States Marine, was the only person to earn America's two highest awards for heroism, 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. ...

and the Carnegie Medal. Smith and his wife have two children and four grandchildren. A good deal of Smith's time is spent teaching and mentoring corporate executives, MBA scholars, government and military leaders, church groups and non-profit organizations. Topics Smith covers include leadership, ethics, strategic planning, heroism, innovation and dealing with the media. He was an enrichment speaker for Crystal Cruises for 20 years. Smith has lived all over the world including Thailand, Germany, France, Italy and Turkey. His travels have taken him to more than one hundred nations across the globe.

Awards and honors

In 1968, Smith's dissertation, ''Wartime Planning for Postwar Contingencies: The Army Air Force Example, 1943-1956'', earned the Helen Dwight Reid award from the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, ...

. In 2011, the General Perry Smith Parkway in Augusta, GA was dedicated in honor of Smith. The parkway will provide access to a new industrial park which will be in close proximity to the

Augusta Regional Airport Augusta Regional Airport (Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field) is a city-owned public airport six miles (11 km) south of Augusta, in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. In 2000 Bush Field airport changed its name to Augusta Region ...

. Smith was honored with a special section of the Augusta Museum of History (located in Augusta, GA) being named for him. Smith was presented with the George Barrett Award in recognition of his leadership by the Augusta Kiwanis Club. In 1992, Smith received an honorary Doctorate from Marietta College The

Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame The Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame recognizes aviation pioneers and contributors associated with the state of Georgia. The museum was created in 1989 by Governor Joe Frank Harris signing House Bill 110. The law called for a 15-member board to overse ...

inducted Smith in 2021.

Author

Smith has written seven books, including ''Assignment Pentagon'', ''Rules and Tools for Leaders'' (last edition updated with co-author, Gen. Jeffrey Foley) and ''A Hero among Heroes: Jimmie Dyess and the 4th Marine Division''. In June 2015 Smith released an updated version of his Dyess book entitled "Courage, Compassion, Marine: The Unique Story of Jimmie Dyess." Smith assisted in the editing and marketing of the book, ''Medal of Honor'', by Peter Collier. This best selling book profiles the remarkable life stories of living Medal of Honor recipients. The book originally included a 90-minute DVD narrated by

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...

. The 3rd edition of this book was published in October, 2011. It contains the life stories of recipients from World War II to the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

. In 2021 he self-published his memoir, ''Listen Up: Stories from Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, the Pentagon, CNN and Beyond''.

References

External links

Perry M. Smith blogAugusta Chronicle stories by Major General Perry SmithBooks by Perry M. Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Perry M. 1934 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni United States Air Force officers School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) National War College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Air Force generals National War College faculty Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal CNN people American male writers