Keith Smith (general)

Keith A. Smith (November 11, 1928 – September 7, 2012) was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Commandant for Aviation for the Marine Corps from 1 September 1984 to 29 April 1988. He was commissioned in 1952 and retired in 1988.[1][2]

Keith A. Smith
Born(1928-11-11)November 11, 1928
Cheney, Washington, U.S.
DiedSeptember 7, 2012(2012-09-07) (aged 83)
Vienna, Virginia, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1952–1986
RankLieutenant general
Commands heldDeputy Commandant for Aviation

Early life and career

Keith Alfred Smith was born on November 11, 1928 in Cheney, Washington to Thomas Clifford Smith and Julia Teresa Smith. His family were dairy farmers in Spokane County, Washington. He attended Cheney High School and Washington State University where he graduated in 1952 with a B.S. in Agriculture. On May 12, 1951 he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and was commissioned a second lieutenant on June 6, 1952. After completing the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, Smith entered flight school at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL and was designated a Naval Aviator on May 12, 1954. [3][4]

Personal life

Smith married Shirley Lee of Hoquiam, Washington in 1952. They had nine children, five boys and three girls. Their oldest son, Marine Captain Vincent Lee Smith, was killed in the terrorist attack of Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon on October 23, 1983. General Smith died on Friday, September 7, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. He is buried in Quantico National Cemetery, Quantico, Virginia. [3][5]

References
  3. Allison, Fred (2013). Fortitudine (PDF) (Vol.37, No.4 ed.). pp. 202–203.
  4. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations (1986). Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1987: Navy aircraft procurement. pp. 202–203.
  5. "Lt. Gen. USMC (Ret) Keith A. Smith". Washington Times.
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