WILLIAM R. SMITH, LTJG, USN
William Smith '56
Lucky Bag
From the 1956 Lucky Bag:
WILLIAM ROBERT SMITH
Pensacola, Florida
After spending a year at Marion Institute, Bob joined the ranks at USNA with all the enthusiasm commonly accorded new Plebes. He was well prepared for Academy routine by his father's thirty years of Navy life. His quick wittedness and his theory of "brain over brawn" quickly earned him the title of "Dim n Fox." Being the outdoor type, Bob spent some time on the cross country and steeplechase teams. After giving up the more strenuous sports, he spent much time enlivening the afternoon on the yawl with his easy conversation. No outstanding dislikes and an ability to meet people are the hallmarks of the Desert Fox.
WILLIAM ROBERT SMITH
Pensacola, Florida
After spending a year at Marion Institute, Bob joined the ranks at USNA with all the enthusiasm commonly accorded new Plebes. He was well prepared for Academy routine by his father's thirty years of Navy life. His quick wittedness and his theory of "brain over brawn" quickly earned him the title of "Dim n Fox." Being the outdoor type, Bob spent some time on the cross country and steeplechase teams. After giving up the more strenuous sports, he spent much time enlivening the afternoon on the yawl with his easy conversation. No outstanding dislikes and an ability to meet people are the hallmarks of the Desert Fox.
Loss
William was lost on December 6, 1957 when the plane he was piloting crashed near Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Other Information
From USNA '56:
Bob came to the Academy well prepared after sharing 19 years of his father's 30-year Naval career and enduring a preparatory year at Marion Military Institute. Bob's quick-wit and his advocacy of "brain over brawn" soon earned him the nickname "Desert Fox." An outdoor person, Bob initially engaged in cross country and steeplechase, but gave up the more strenuous efforts for on-the-water activity and spent much time sailing the yawls, enlivening the afternoons with his easy conversation. Bob seemed to like almost everything and easily met and interacted positively with others.
After graduation Bob entered Naval flight training. On December 6th, 1957, both Bob, who was the pilot, and his father, George W. Smith who was on board, died in an aircraft accident at NAS, Pensacola. They were survived by Bob's mother, Mary Houghton Smith, and his brother George W. Smith Jr., who lived in Warrington, FL at that time. Bob was unmarried.
From the Tampa Tribune, December 7, 1957:
PENSACOLA, Dec. 6. (AP)-A Navy pilot and his father were killed today when a T28 training plane crashed near Holly Field, an auxiliary of the Pensacola Naval Air Station.
They were Lt. (J. G.) William R. Smith and George W. Smith, Sr., of nearby Warrington. The younger Smith was attached to the NAS overhaul and repair shop, where his father was a civilian employe.
The Navy said the plane was on a routine flight when it crashed about two miles southwest of Holly Field. The cause was not determined.
Lieutenant Smith was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in June, 1956, and came here for his flight training. The victims are survived by the wife and mother, Mrs. Mary Houghton Smith, and a son and brother, George W. Smith, Jr., Warrington.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In June 1955, William was awarded a bronze medal as third place winner in the small arms target practice competition at a special ceremony at the Naval Academy.
Both William and his father are buried in Florida.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
Note on Operational Loss Determination
Though it is unusual that his father was aboard the plane, given that it was a Navy training plane and the Navy was the organization that commented on it crashing -- and that his father was a civilian employee of the Navy -- it seems that this was an official flight and therefore William's loss was operational.
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