Page 100 - The History of Veterans at Highland Springs

JIMMY L. SMITH
HIGHLAND SPRINGS RESIDENT, AIR FORCE By daughters
Geneva, Grace, Carol and Cindy
Jimmy Smith served his country with deep pride and honor for 20 years from 1952 to 1972. Major Smith graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and requested a position with the U.S. Air Force as he had a burning desire to fly, and there was no Air Force Academy at the time.
Jimmy grew up in a family with no economic opportunity for “extras” and as such got a job in high school as a mail clerk for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. so that he could pay for flying lessons. He had his pilot’s license by the age of 16.
Immediately after graduation from the Naval Academy, Jimmy married the love of his life, Patsy, and they began their Air Force journey together. Right after celebrating their first anniversary, Jimmy and Pat welcomed twin daughters, Geneva and Grace, while stationed in College Station, TX. His next assignment was in Long Island, followed by an overseas assignment that included the family in Kent, England. In England, the Smiths added a third daughter, Carol, before the next assignment in France.
For a season, Jimmy had the privilege to fly the fastest fighter jet that existed in its time, an F86D. In 1959, Jimmy was assigned to Denison University in Granville, OH as an Air Force ROTC instructor. He founded a drill team there that won many awards. His next assignment in 1963 was to the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO where he served as an Air Officer Commander leading a squadron of cadets. It was here that the fourth daughter, Cynthia, was born.
In 1965 Jimmy was transferred to Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, TX, serving as a T-37 flight instructor. The family lived there until the summer of 1971 when he received his last assignment to South Korea. After retiring in 1972 with the rank of Major, Jimmy and Pat moved to Dallas so that he could complete a ThM degree at Dallas Theological Seminary thus becoming a pastor in several capacities for the next 30+ years. He likes to say that he went from the cockpit to the pulpit.
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