[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING COLONEL DEWEY LEE SMITH

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to mourn the passing of a 
great Kentuckian and an American hero, Col. Dewey Lee Smith. Colonel 
Smith of Fairdale, KY, was a U.S. Air Force veteran. He passed away on 
February 9, 2015, and was 85 years old.
  Colonel Smith bravely served his country during the Vietnam war and 
was taken prisoner on June 2, 1967, as an F-105 pilot who was forced to 
eject over North Vietnam. He was held as a POW and not released until 
March 4, 1973, near the end of the Vietnam war. He spent 2,103 days in 
captivity and was released during Operation Homecoming.
  Colonel Smith was not reluctant to talk about his POW experience, and 
often spoke about it on Veterans Day at area churches. He also 
frequently spoke to newly commissioned military officers at Fort Knox.
  Among Colonel Smith's many various medals, awards, and decorations, 
he received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the 
Purple Heart. He later received a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, in lieu of a 
second Silver Star, for gallantry while a POW.
  Colonel Smith was born, fittingly, on Veterans Day in 1929 in 
Louisville. He played football at Fairdale High School and was a 
linebacker and a fullback on the football team at Western Kentucky 
University.
  He was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Air Force ROTC 
program at Western Kentucky in 1953. He was awarded his pilot wings at 
Vance AFB, OK, in June 1954. He served in South Korea, and at the time 
of his capture he was stationed in Thailand.
  In his retirement, Colonel Smith could frequently be seen playing 
golf at South Park Country Club, and he served at least once as the 
grand marshal of the Fairdale Fair parade. He will be greatly missed by 
his wife Elaine, his sons Dewey Smith Jr., Jonathan Smith, and Joshua 
Russell Smith, and his daughters Vicki Boyd and Sandra Smith. I know my 
U.S. Senate colleagues join me in expressing condolences to Colonel 
Smith's family.
  The Louisville Courier-Journal published an obituary for Colonel 
Smith. I ask unanimous consent that said obituary be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the obituary was ordered to appear as 
follows:

                        Colonel Dewey Lee Smith


                                Obituary

       Smith, Colonel Dewey Lee, 85, passed while in the nursing 
     home in Luverne, AL, on February 9, 2015. A highly decorated 
     veteran of the Cold War and the Vietnam War and a POW of the 
     Vietnam War, he was awarded numerous medals for valor and 
     citations for achievement including but not limited to the 
     Silver Star (2), Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross 
     for Valor (2), Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart (2), and 
     Prisoner of War Medal.
       Colonel Smith was a courageous, honorable and loyal airman, 
     as well as a patient and loving father, a humble family man, 
     and a faithful servant of God. He married Elaine Hall in 
     Glenwood, Alabama in 1974. As a natural at the game of 
     football, he coached little league, played his senior year at 
     Fairdale High School in Fairdale, Kentucky and received a 
     scholarship to play at Western Kentucky, where he played from 
     1948 to 1953, and served as a student coach in 1953.
       Colonel Smith was born on November 11, 1929 in Louisville, 
     KY, to John and Edna Smith.
       He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Elaine Hall Smith; 
     his daughters, Vicki Boyd of Chattanooga and Sandy Smith of 
     Louisville; his sons, Lieutenant Colonel Dewey L. Smith, Jr. 
     ``Chip'' of Missoula, MT, Captain Jonathan Smith (April) and 
     Sergeant Joshua Smith (Samlong) of Louisville; his 
     grandchildren, Mike, Halle, Mahalia, Kaden, Kellan, Samara, 
     and Serena; his sister, Mildred Davis of Shepherdsville; and 
     many nieces and nephews who adored their Uncle Dewey. Colonel 
     Dewey was preceded in death by his parents, John and Edna; 
     his brothers, Homer Smith and Johnny Ray Smith (Louisville), 
     Cedar Smith of Charlestown, IN; his sisters, Alice Oney of 
     Louisville, Elizabeth Trotter of Chattanooga, and Mary 
     Stewart of Evarts, KY; daughter, Donna.
       A viewing will take place at Fairdale-McDaniel Funeral 
     Home, Friday 3-8 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.--1 p.m., with the 
     burial immediately following at Bethany Cemetery at 2 p.m. 
     The service will be officiated by Brother David Brading and 
     Jack Davis.

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