Retired Gen. Jacob Edward Smart and the late Maj. Thomas Dry Howie were selected by the S.C. Hall of Fame Board of Trustees to be inducted into the state's official Hall of Fame, which is located in the lobby of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
In addition to paying tribute to the inductees, the upcoming ceremony will honor all veterans of World War II, according to Bob Hirsch, President of the Board of Trustees. "Because both of these men were heroes in World War II, we thought it would be appropriate to dedicate the ceremony to all World War II veterans," he said.
The late Maj. Thomas Dry Howie was born in Abbeville in 1908 and graduated from Abbeville High School in 1925. He graduated from The Citadel in 1929, where he was an outstanding student and athlete. In the 1930s, he served on the faculty of Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. During World War II, Howie was a major in the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, and saw much action in Europe. After fighting throughout the Normandy campaign, he was killed while en route to St. Lo, France. His death on July 17, 1944, spurred his battalion to liberate the town from the Germans. Howie was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, French Legion of Honor, French Fourragere, and Combat Infantry Badge. National Guard armories in Greenwood, S.C., and Staunton, Va., bear his name. The Thomas Dry Howie Carillon tower at The Citadel is a memorial to him, and another memorial was dedicated to him in 1969 at St. Lo, where he is buried.
Retired Gen. Jacob Edward Smart was born in Ridgeland in 1909 and graduated from West Point in 1931. He was responsible for planning a raid on Ploesti, Rumania, the location of the Germans' main oil supply. This effort became the most highly decorated mission ever flown by the Air Corps or the Air Force, producing five Congressional Medal of Honor winners. In 1944, Smart became commander of the 97th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force. On his 29th mission over Germany, his plane was destroyed and he was wounded. He was taken prisoner by the Germans and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war. In 1951, Smart was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as deputy commander for operations of the Far East Air Force in Japan. he was assigned to the Pentagon, where he served as commander of the 12th Air Force and vice commander of the Tactical Air Command. In 1961, Smart was named commander of the 5th Air Force and commander of U.S. forces in Japan. During the Vietnam War, he became commander in chief of U.S. Air Forces in the Pacific and earned his fourth star. He later served as deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command. Smart's decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Legion of Merit, two Purple Hearts, and numerous international decorations. After retiring from the military, he served as assistant administrator of NASA and executive vice president of the Earth Satellite Corporation. In South Carolina, he has served on the Governor's Commission for Prisoners of War and as president of the Jasper County Historical Society.
The S.C. Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Myrtle Beach, and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.