Philip Eldon Smith (born 15 October 1934) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot who was held captive in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for seven and a half years.

Early life

Smith was born in

Roodhouse, Illinois Roodhouse is a city in Greene County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,814 at the 2010 census, down from 2,214 at the 2000 census. Geography Roodhouse is located in northern Greene County at (39.482004, -90.371780). U.S. Route 67 p ...

. After attending high school he completed a special two year curriculum at the Institute of Aviation,

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

USAF career

He joined the United States Air Force and in June 1957, graduated from Air Force Pilot Training. He later flew the

F-86F The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

, the

F-100 F-100 or F100 may refer to: Aerospace and defense * North American F-100 Super Sabre, a fighter aircraft formerly in the service of the United States Air Force * Fokker 100, a regional jet * Pratt & Whitney F100, afterburning turbofan engine * ' ...

and then the

F-104 The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

. He volunteered for combat duty and in September 1965 was flying the F-104C with the 436th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at

Da Nang Air Base Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

Capture

83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-104As escort a Lockheed EC-121

On 20 September 1965 Smith was flying his F-104C #56-883 on a mission to escort an

EC-121 The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was an American airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft operational in the 1950s in both the United States Navy (USN) and United States Air Force (USAF). The military version of the Lock ...

over the

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

when due to equipment failure and incorrect navigational commands he strayed into Chinese airspace over

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

. His aircraft was intercepted and shot down by two

Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 (Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and d ...

fighters of the

People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; ) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy. Overview Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of ...

near

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

. Smith ejected successfully and was captured by PLA forces. On 21 September the U.S. military acknowledged that Smith was missing and reported that Smith had radioed that he was experiencing mechanical problems and fuel shortage, but did not confirm that he had been shot down. Initially he refused to speak to the PLA Navy personnel who captured him. However, when a PLA Air Force Officer entered the room, He stood up and gave a salute. He explained that he did not realise the PLA Navy personnel were regular forces, citing their newly changed grey Type 65 Navy uniforms. He was first taken to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

for interrogation and then later transferred to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Most of his captivity was spent in solitary confinement; however, he did meet

John T. Downey John Thomas Downey or Jack Downey (April 19, 1930 – November 17, 2014) was an American judge and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As a CIA operative, he was shot down over China during the Korean War and was held prisoner for over ...

and

Richard Fecteau Richard G. Fecteau (born 1927) of Lynn, Massachusetts is a Central Intelligence Agency operative who was captured by operatives of the People's Republic of China during a CIA-sponsored flight over mainland China during the Korean War. News of th ...

both of whom were

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

agents captured in 1952.

Release

Due to improving US-China relations following President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's historic 1972 visit to China, Smith and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Robert J. Flynn Robert James Flynn (September 15, 1937 – May 15, 2014) was a Commander and Naval Flight Officer bombardier/navigator in the United States Navy. As a Lieutenant, he was captured by the Chinese in August 1967 after the A-6 Intruder he was flyin ...

who was shot down in 1967 were released on 15 March 1973, crossing the land border into the

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

where they were received by a representative of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

and U.S. consular officials. Both men were then flown by helicopter to

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...

and then flown to

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...

The Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

where they were processed together with U.S. prisoners of war released from

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

as part of

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On January 27, 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

Post-release

Smith returned to USAF duty and retired with the rank of Colonel in December 1987.

Awards and decorations

His awards include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Philip E. 1934 births Living people American people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China United States Air Force colonels United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Shot-down aviators Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Aviators from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois People from Greene County, Illinois