Colonel Elmer F. Smith, 97

Colonel Elmer F. Smith, USAF (Ret.), died peacefully Wednesday evening at Reston Hospital Center in Reston, VA, at the age of 97 with his three daughters by his side.

As an Army Air Corps second lieutenant in 1942, Smith was selected to be the copilot on the first presidential air crew, the forerunner of today’s “Air Force One.” He flew President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference, in addition to trips with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, cabinet members, senators and congressmen, foreign dignitaries, and senior military officers to include generals Marshall, Eisenhower, and Bradley.

He continued in the Presidential Flight of the Air Transport Command during the Truman administration, flying the president to the Potsdam Conference and innumerable other destinations, to include the famous meeting with General MacArthur at Wake Island during the Korean War.

Col. Smith’s subsequent Air Force career included commanding a supply squadron and spending several years working in aircraft development and procurement before retiring in 1970. He concluded his government service with the U.S. Department of Energy, working on energy efficiency programs.

He is survived by his three daughters, Janet Hitchens, of Poolesville, MD, Linda Barry, of San Diego, CA, and Nancy Alexander of Norcross, GA as well as five granddaughters, Katie Barry, Kerry and Christine Alexander, and Elizabeth and Emily Hitchens. He was predeceased by another granddaughter, Melissa Barry.

Col. Smith will be interred with Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery alongside his wife of 53 years, Joyce Robinson Smith, who passed away in 1996.

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