William Y . Smith General William Young Smith ( born August 13 / 14 , 1925 ) is a retired United States Air Force four - star general who served as Chief of Staff , Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( COFS SHAPE ) from 1979 to 1981 and as Deputy Commander in Chief , U . S . European Command ( DCINCEUR ) from 1981 to 1983 . Smith was born in 1925 , in Hot Springs , Arkansas , where he graduated from high school in 1943 . He spent one year at Washington and Lee University , then entered the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York . He graduated in 1948 , among the first academy graduates commissioned directly into the newly established Air Force . He received a master of public administration degree in 1954 and a doctorate in political economy and government in 1961 , both from Harvard University . He completed Air Command and Staff College , Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , in 1959 and National War College , Fort Lesley J . McNair , Washington , D . C . , in 1965 . His first assignment was training recruits at Lackland Air Force Base , Texas . Subsequently he went through flight training at Randolph Air Force Base , Texas , and Williams Air Force Base , Arizona , receiving his pilot wings in September 1949 . He then served as a pilot with the 20th Fighter - Bomber Group at Shaw Air Force Base , South Carolina . In March 1951 Smith was assigned to the 27th Fighter Escort Group at Itazuke Air Base , Japan , and flew combat missions over Korea in F - 84 Thunderjet s . He spent two months as a forward air controller with the U . S . Army ' s 25th Infantry Division . He next joined the 49th Fighter - Bomber Group and served as operations officer for combat crew training at Itazuke , then as assistant group operations officer at Taegu Air Base , South Korea , flying combat missions until hit by flak and wounded on his 97th mission . After prolonged hospitalization , Smith attended Harvard University for graduate study in preparation for a teaching assignment with the department of social sciences at the U . S . Military Academy . From August 1954 to July 1958 , he taught government , economic and international relations , and attained the rank of associate professor at the U . S . Military Academy . He attended the Air Command and Staff College from August 1958 to June 1959 . He spent that summer on special assignment with the president ' s committee to study the U . S . Military Assistance Program , the Draper Committee . In the fall he become a planning and programming officer with the deputy director of war plans in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff , Plans and Programs , Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . In July 1961 he moved to the White House as Air Force staff assistant to General Maxwell D . Taylor who was then military representative to President John F . Kennedy . When General Taylor became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1962 , Smith worked in a dual capacity as an assistant to the chairman , Joint Chiefs of Staff , and as a staff member on the National Security Council under McGeorge Bundy . Smith went to the National War College in August 1964 and after graduation in June 1965 , was assigned to Headquarters U . S . Air Forces in Europe , Lindsey Air Station , Germany . He worked first in the Policy and Negotiations Division and later as chief , War Plans Division , both under the deputy chief of staff for operations . In July 1967 he became commander of the 603rd Air Base Wing at Sembach Air Base , Germany . Following his return to the United States in July 1968 , he became military assistant to the secretary of the Air Force , serving first with Secretary Harold Brown and subsequently with Secretary Robert C . Seamans Jr . In this position it was Smith ' s job to advise and assist the secretary on matters of substance , particularly operational , budgetary , joint - service and system acquisition matters . In addition he carried out special projects for the secretary . He was appointed vice commander of the Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area , now the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center in August 1971 , and become commander in June 1972 . The center provided logistics support for U . S . Air Force weapon systems that includes B - 52 s and associated missiles , A - 7D ' s , C - 135s and its configurations ranging from tankers to airborne command posts , command control communications systems , aircraft engines for Major Air Force combat and airlift aircraft , and component parts for various Air Force equipment . In October 1973 Smith transferred to Air Force headquarters and served as director of doctrine , concepts and objectives in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff , Plans and Operations . In July 1974 he was appointed director of policy plans and National Security Council affairs , Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs . He became assistant to the chairman , Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , in September 1975 . He returned to Europe in July 1979 as chief of staff for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , Belgium , and became Deputy Commander in Chief , U . S . European Command in June 1981 . His military decorations and awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal , Distinguished Service Medal ( Air Force ) with oak leaf cluster , Silver Star , Legion of Merit , Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters , Joint Service Commendation Medal and Purple Heart . He was promoted to general July 1 , 1979 , with same date of rank and retired on July 31 , 1983 .