Edward G. Smith

Edward G. Smith was an African American US Air Force veteran who served from December 1952 until April 1964, as a member of the 90th Air Refueling Squadron, Strategic Air Command. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised on a farm his father managed. Smith often assisted his father in running the farm, which included the raising of crops.

When Smith was fourteen years old, his parents separated. To his disappointment, his mother did not allow him to remain on the farm. Instead, he moved on from farm life and found work as a construction worker in the daytime and a factory worker at night. Smith was eventually laid off from both jobs. Out of work, he considered joining the military. Smith enlisted into the U.S. Air Force, which was in need of mechanics, and was accepted. He went to basic training and aircraft training school in Wichita, Kansas.

Smith became a crew chief in the Air Force and was responsible for the maintenance and repair of aircraft. It was also his job to oversee inspections of aircraft before and after they flew, as well as to ensure that necessary repair parts were available. He attended many aircraft schools, including fuel systems, hydraulic systems, and reciprocating engine schools. When Smith was not flying in aircraft, he spent his time expanding his knowledge by attending an aircraft school.

Smith spent seven years as a crew chief in the Air Force on the Boeing KC-97, a large tanker plane refueling aircraft. He did not see combat while serving. Smith was, however, injured in an unusual way during his time as a crew chief. It was his job to turn on the power every day for the volt machine of the KC-97. One day, he was burned by 160 volts from the aircraft when attempting to turn it on. Smith was severely scorched with third degree burns throughout his body. Except for one mark inside his upper arm, he miraculously did not receive any permanent scars from the accident. Smith only remembered waking up in the hospital, and nurses using long tweezers to peel off burned skin from his neck to his feet. A subsequent investigation revealed that the volt machine was rigged. Smith believed that an individual intentionally tried to injure him and strip him of his job!

Being an African American man in the military, Smith felt occasionally discriminated against based on his skin color. He stated that black men in the service were often rejected for promotions that they were clearly qualified for. Regarding his own treatment in the service, Smith noted that: “While I enjoyed the service, there was prejudice both on and off the base, particularly in Georgia and Texas. On one occasion, my request for promotion was put in the garbage can, right in front of me.”
Smith did not use his GI Bill benefits. Following his time in the Air Force, he worked for General Motors off and on. Smith also helped his father repair houses. He had not talked much about his experience in the service.