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 force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

major general. 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 Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

took place. He lived in Italy following

World War II 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 ...

, 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), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

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 in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1967. He also graduated from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within 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 ...

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 (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. 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 is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

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 or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

, 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 ...

. 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 nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic 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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

. 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 Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

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 scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...

. 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, Georgia, Augusta, in Richmond County, Georgia, Richmond County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United Sta ...

. 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 U.S. state, state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The museum was created in 1989 by Governor Joe Frank Harris signing House Bill 110. The law cal ...

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 journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

. 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. 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