Jacob E . Smart General Jacob Edward Smart ( May 31 , 1909 – November 12 , 2006 ) was a U . S . Army Air Force leader in World War II and Cold War era Air Force general . Early life . Smart was born in Ridgeland , South Carolina , the son of a railroad conductor , and was educated in the public schools of South Carolina and Georgia , and at Marion Military Institute in Marion , Alabama . Military career . Smart graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1931 and entered flight training with the Army Air Corps . He became a flying instructor . When the United States entered World War II , Smart ( Colonel at that time ) was chief of staff for flight training at Air Force headquarters in Washington , D . C . . World War II . Smart joined the Air Corps Advisory Council in July 1942 , serving on the staff of General “ Hap ” Arnold , Chief of Staff of the Army Air Force . In this position , he was involved with the planning of the invasion of Europe and participated in the meeting between U . S . President Franklin D . Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Casablanca , Morocco in 1943 . He received the Legion of Merit for his services . Smart was assigned to 9th Bomber Command in the Middle East in 1943 . He was the architect of Operation Tidal Wave , in which 178 B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber s from five bombardment groups of the 9th Army Air Force flew a 2 , 400 - mile round trip from bases near Benghazi in Libya to perform a low - level bombing raid on the oil refineries at Ploieşti , Romania , on 1 August 1943 . Nearly 40 % of the oil plant was destroyed , but 55 of the American planes were lost and another 50 severely damaged . He received the Distinguished Service Medal ; five other airmen received the Medal of Honor , the most for any single military action . Despite its success , the plant was repaired and back to its original operating capacity within a week . Smart attended the Army - Navy Staff College , graduating in February 1944 . He then joined the 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater , commanding the 97th Bomb Group in Italy . Despite his knowledge of top secret issues , such as plans for the Normandy invasion , he was allowed to fly missions over enemy territory . On his 29th mission , May 10 , 1944 , Smart was flying a B - 17 Flying Fortress on a mission to bomb aircraft factories near Wiener Neustadt , Austria . The aircraft was hit by anti - aircraft fire and exploded . He was thrown from the wreck in mid - air but managed to open his parachute despite the wounds he had received from the explosion . He landed and was immediately captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war until freed by the forces of General George S . Patton ' s Army in April 1945 . His captors knew he was important and did their best to extract secrets from him but Smart was able to evade all their questions . Upon his repatriation to the US , Smart returned to duty as a top aide to General Arnold , continuing as the U . S . Air Force was formed in 1947 . He graduated from the National War College in June 1950 , and commanded 32nd Air Division at Stewart Air Force Base in New York , and was alter later vice commander of Eastern Air Defense Force . Postwar career . During the Korean War , Smart served as deputy for operations in the Far East Air Force where he showed his skill as a strategist . He also flew several sorties , and was injured . He returned to Washington , D . C . , in June 1955 , as assistant vice chief of staff at U . S . Air Force Headquarters , and became commander of the Twelfth Air Force , Tactical Air Command , in September 1959 . He became vice commander of Tactical Air Command in January 1960 , based at Langley Air Force Base . He served as Commander U . S . Forces in Japan from August 1961 ; and then as Commander of the Pacific Air Forces in Honolulu from August 1963 . He became Deputy Commander of the U . S . European Command in July 1964 , and retired in July 1966 . Later life . Following his retirement , Smart served as an administrator with NASA for several years . He eventually returned to live in Ridgeland . Smart died in his sleep from congestive heart failure at the age of 97 on Sunday , November 12 , 2006 and was buried the following week on Thursday November 16 , 2006 . He was divorced in 1946 . He had four children ; three daughters and a son . He was predeceased by two daughters . Awards and decorations . Smart received numerous decorations including : Distinguished Service Cross , Distinguished Service Medal , Distinguished Flying Cross , Legion of Merit and four awards of the Air Medal . He was also awarded the decoration of Ulchi by the Republic of Korea , and was an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire .