Luther H. Smith (front: 4th right), a native of Iowa and a Tuskegee Airman who later worked as an aerospace engineer, has died in suburban Philadelphia. He was 89.Smith's family says he died Wednesday morning at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He had been hospitalized frequently over the last two years but attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January.
Smith, who grew up in Des Moines, flew 133 combat missions with the Alabama-based 332nd Fighter Group of the Army Air Corps. On his last mission he parachuted from his burning plane and was captured by German soldiers in 1944.
Smith retired in 1947 and earned his engineering degree in his home state of Iowa. He was an engineer for 37 years at General Electric. He was one of the first African-American licensed pilots in the nation,
Smith was one of about 300 original Tuskegee Airmen awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007.
In recent years, the Des Moines airport board has considered renaming Des Moines International Airport after Smith.
[AP report]
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Related
List of Tuskegee Airman
TAM 332 Air Fighter Group
TAM Combat Record
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