Neal Edward Smith
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Neal Edward Smith (March 23, 1920 – November 2, 2021) was an American politician who was a member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
for the Democratic Party from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
from 1959 until 1995, the longest-serving Iowan in the United States House of Representatives. Upon the death of
Lester L. Wolff Lester Lionel Wolff (January 4, 1919 – May 11, 2021) was an American politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Long Island, New York. He also served as pr ...
in May 2021, Smith became the oldest living current or former member of Congress. He held this title until his death nearly six months later.


Early life

Smith was born in his grandparents' home near
Hedrick Hedrick may refer to: * Hedrick, Indiana * Hedrick, Iowa * Hedrick, Missouri * Hedrick (surname) {{Disambig ...
,
Keokuk County, Iowa Keokuk County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 10,033. The county seat is Sigourney, Iowa, Sigourney. History Keokuk County was formed in 1837. It ...
. He served in the
United States Army Air Forces 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 ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
. His plane was shot down and he received a
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
, nine
battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
, and 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 establi ...
with four
oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...
s. First with points to exit military service from his group and quickly recruited into university. He received his undergraduate training at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
and
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
and received a
law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...
from
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
in 1950.


Career

Before entering politics he served as an assistant county attorney for Polk County. He served as National President of the Young Democratic Clubs of America from 1953 to 1955. He served as Chairman of the Polk County Welfare Board from 1953 to 1954. Smith was elected to the House of Representatives in the Democratic landslide of 1958, and was reelected 17 more times from a district based in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
—numbered as the 5th District from 1959 to 1973 and as the 4th District from 1973 to 1995. A federal anti-nepotism law, sponsored by Smith, was enacted in 1967 prevents public officials, including the president, from appointing any relative to head an executive agency. When the law was passed in 1967, it was presumed to be a congressional response to U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointing his younger brother, Robert Kennedy, as U.S. attorney general. As the author of the bill, however, Smith repeatedly denied this was his motive. Smith instead aimed the legislation, the Federal Postal Act of 1967, at nepotism in the postal service, and it applied broadly to both the executive and legislative branches. He said it applied to Congress because "there were 50 members who had their wives on the payrolls." For most of his tenure, Smith represented a relatively compact district in central Iowa. However, the 1990s redistricting pushed him into a district covering the southwest quadrant of the state from Des Moines to
Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
, an area that he did not know and that did not know him. He was reelected in 1992, but was defeated in the Republican landslide of 1994 by
Greg Ganske John Greg Ganske (born March 31, 1949) is an American politician, plastic surgeon, and retired U.S. Army reserve lieutenant colonel from Iowa. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 and ...
, mainly due to heavy losses in the western portion of the district.


Personal life

Neal Smith married Beatrix Havens in 1946 and they had two children: Doug and Sharon. His wife died in 2016. The
Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a federal national wildlife refuge located in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The refuge, formerly known as Walnut Creek, is named after Congressman Neal Edward Smith, who championed its creation. It ...
in Prairie City and the Neal Smith Trail in Des Moines are both named after the former congressman, as well as the Neal Smith Federal Building in Des Moines. The Neal and Bea Smith Law Center at
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
is named after the former congressman and his wife. In 1996 Smith published his
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
: ''Mr. Smith Went to Washington: From Eisenhower to Clinton'', in 2009 he wrote ''Hanging Out in Bur Oak: During the 1930s Depression, Bootleggers, the Draft, World War II, a Leveling Experience'' and in 2019 ''From My Century to Yours: Wisdom from the Near 100-Year Life of Former Congressman Neal Edward Smith''. At the time of his defeat, he had represented Iowa in Congress longer than anyone in the state's history; he has since been passed by Democrat
Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...
, who served for a combined 40 years in the House and Senate, and by Republican
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...
, who as of 2023 has served for over 48 years in the House and Senate. However, Smith continues to hold the record for service in the House of Representatives. He
turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...
in March 2020. Smith died on November 2, 2021, at the age of 101.


References


External links

* *
Congressman Neal Smith At 99
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Neal Edward 1920 births 2021 deaths 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives American autobiographers American men centenarians Aviators from Iowa Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Drake University Law School alumni Military personnel from Iowa People from Keokuk County, Iowa Recipients of the Air Medal Shot-down aviators United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers University of Missouri alumni Writers from Iowa