Nearly 2,000 days.
That was how long Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith was a prisoner of war at the “Hanoi Hilton” prison during the Vietnam War.
Even after those years of captivity, Smith continued to serve the Columbus Air Force Base until his retirement from service in 1978.
It was Smith’s brave service that made him the perfect representation for CAFB’s ceremonial plaza in front of its headquarters, said Col. James Blech, commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing, during a rededication ceremony Thursday on base.
“It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate name for a place devoted to honor, service and sacrifice,” Blech said. “… Courage is often misunderstood. We tend to think of courage as something loud – the roar of a jet engine, the charge into danger, the heroic moment. But some of the greatest courage this world has ever known occurred in silence, in a prison cell, in the decision to resist one more day, and the choice to continue believing in something greater than your own suffering. That was Gene Smith.”
After Smith’s death in January, Blech said base leadership wanted to honor his legacy this year for Memorial Day, which is why they decided to rededicate the base’s ceremonial plaza in Smith’s name Thursday as a reminder of his service and the sacrifice of other fallen service members.
“I think Memorial Day may be one of the most important things we do as a nation,” Blech told The Dispatch. “… (Reflecting) on what it takes to have what we have and to remember those we’ve lost everything is extraordinarily important. … We all have the names of people that we’ve lost in combat, and remembering them (today) also helps us heal.”
The Richard “Gene” Smith Plaza was originally dedicated in 2007 in honor of Smith and his service to the Air Force. Smith was an F-105 pilot during the Vietnam War and later became the 50th Flying Training Squadron commander and director of operations at CAFB.
Over his 22 years of service Smith earned the two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, Blech said.
Beyond his achievements, Smith also cared about the region, which was evident during his time as director of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport from 1978 to 1998, Blech said.
“Those who knew Gene best did not speak first about his decorations or his suffering; they spoke about his character, his kindness (and) his humility,” Blech said. “… I think there’s something important in that, because the greatest men and women in our profession of arms are rarely defined by their rank or their awards, they’re defined (by) how they treated people.”
‘In stories retold’
More than 300 airmen, community members and base leaders filled the Kaye Auditorium to pay their respects to Smith and the other key figures to CAFB that died within the last year including Capt. Wade “Stab” Holmes and Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris.
“This year, our community has also felt the weight of loss more personally,” Blech said. “We said goodbye to friends, mentors, leaders and members of our extended Air Force family who helped shape this base and community and this nation. … Their absence is felt not only in ceremonies like this, but in quieter moments, in stories retold, in empty chairs, in the small reminders of people who once made our lives better simply by being part of them. … But there’s also something beautiful in that, because it means their lives matter, and their legacy endures.”
As a sign of respect to those lost, Blech asked the crowd to perform a roll call, a tradition typically done in the Air Force after a difficult mission.
One by one members of the crowd filled the silence by naming fallen service members.
Jay Fisher, former vice commander at CAFB from 2015 to 2017, said during the roll call he whispered the name of Maj. Jeffrey Ausborn, who served under Fisher and was killed during an attack in Afghanistan in 2011.
Fisher said he appreciated the chance to remember Ausborn and Smith and the importance of their service.
“If you don’t deliberately take time to remember and call out people’s names, and try to honor their service I think we do a disservice to everybody,” Fisher said. “The further and further you get away from active combat, where people are really dying and making sacrifices, we tend to move on with our lives. We all are busy, we all have other priorities, (but) I don’t think it’s too much for one day a year to take a pause (and) thank those people who never got to come home to their families.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
