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Graham "Peepsight" Smith (April 19, 1919 – April 30, 1951) † was an U.S. Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He was a member of Tuskegee Airmen's fourth-ever aviation cadet program and one of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.

Smith was the first African American US Military combat fighter pilot to land on foreign soil in North Africa, at Oued N’ja in French Morocco.

Smith's brother, Reginald V. Smith, also trained as a pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group.

Early life and family

Smith was born on April 19, 1919, in the agricultural community of Ahoskie, North Carolina, Hertford County. He was the son of Dempsey Porter Smith (1885–1976) and Zeora L. Smith (1902–1985). His siblings included sister Mildred Evelyn Smith (1913–1935) and brother, Reginald V. Smith (1925–1946), who graduated from Tuskegee Flight School's Class 45-E-SE as a twin-engine pilot at Tuskegee Air Field, receiving his wings and commission as a flight officer.

Smith attended the Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now North Carolina A&T), where he was the treasurer of NC A&T's Sphinx Club.

On October 30, 1943, Smith married Annie D. Valentine Hall in Weldon, North Carolina.

Pre-military flight training

In its efforts to address the shortage of potential military pilots nationwide (especially with pressure from the African American press, civil rights organizations and colleges for African American participation in aeronautics), the U.S. Federal Government, through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, earmarked six historically black colleges and universities to develop a cadre of African American pilots. The federal government selected the following schools for official CPTP sites: Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University), Howard University, Delaware State University, Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and Smith's alma mater, the Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina. Smith was one of 20 students selected, out of 100-plus applicants. NC A&T's program required Smith and other candidates to be least a sophomore enrolled an any of the academic programs on campus, and prepared to 72 hours of ground school including aeronautics, avionics and the physics of flight, and 35 to 45 hours of flying time towards a private pilot certificate.

Military service

In 1942, the U.S. Army Air Corps admitted Smith to its Advanced Flight School at Tuskegee Army Airfield. On July 3, 1942, Smith graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-42-F, receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was then assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron where he would operate from 1943 to 1945.

On May 5, 1943, Smith and Lieutenant James T. Wiley were the 99th Fighter Squadron's first two P-40 pilots to land in North Africa, at Oued N’ja in French Morocco.

In 1944, Smith was transferred back to the United States.

After World War II, Smith left the military, returning for the Korean War where he served with the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing and the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron.

At the time of his death in 1951, Smith held the rank of Captain.

Death

On April 30, 1951, Smith died from multiple fragmentation wounds when his aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft flak during a combat mission near Miudong, North Korea. After deeming Smith Missing in Action on December 31, 1953, his status was changed to presumed dead.

He was interred at the Arlington National Cemetery, Plot MH, 0, 325-B, in Arlington, Virginia, Arlington County.

Commendations and awards

• Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
• Purple Heart
• Korean Service Medal
• United Nations Service Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Republic of Korea War Service Medal

Legacy

• In 2007, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a resolution honoring the legacy of Smith, his brother Reginald V. Smith, and other Tuskegee Airmen from North Carolina.

See also

• Executive Order 9981
• List of Tuskegee Airmen
• List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes
• Military history of African Americans

References

1. ^ "Captain Graham Smith and brother Flight Officer Reginald Vinson Smith". CAF Rise Above. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
2. Digital Gems – Illinois Heartland Library System. "Graham "Peepsight" Smith." https://digitalgems.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p114401coll5/id/44/
3. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
4. "Tuskegee Airman Chronology." Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)
5. ^ Cal Bryant (November 13, 2012). "One heartbeat". Roanoke-Chowan News Herald.
6. ^ Brian McClure (13 January 2012). "State of the HBCU: Past, Present, Future. "What you should know before seeing Red Tails". Retrieved 20 September 2021.
7. ^ Andre Taylor. "NC A&T Trained Black Pilots During WWII". North Carolina Museum of History. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
8. Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Homan, Lynn, Thomas Reilly · 2001. Page 68.
9. 99th Fighter Squadron history, Mar 1941-Oct 1943.
10. Series: African American Activities in Industry, Government, and the Armed Forces, 1941–1945 Record Group 208: Records of the Office of War Information, 1926–1951. n.d. National Archives Identifier: 535836, Local Identifier: 208-NP-6EEE-1. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/535836
11. ^ "Smith, Graham, Capt – Fallen". Together We Served. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
12. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2007, RATIFIED BILL. RESOLUTION 2007-62. HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2063. A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN AND EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THEIR SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR. https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/PDF/H2063v3.pdf

v t e Tuskegee Airmen
Units	99th Fighter Squadron 100th Fighter Squadron 301st Fighter Squadron 302nd Fighter Squadron 332d Fighter Group 477th Bomber Group
Air fields	Chanute Field Mather Field Moton Army Air Field Oscoda Army Air Field Selfridge Air Field Tuskegee Army Air Field
Pilots and crew	Paul Adams Rutherford H. Adkins Halbert Alexander William N. Alsbrooka William Armstrong Lee Archer Robert Ashby Willie Ashley Charles P. Bailey William Bartley Howard Baugh Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler George R. Bolling Herbert V. Clark Granville C. Coggs Woodrow Crockett Harold Brown George L. Brown Roscoe Brown William A. Campbell Herbert Carter Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr. Milton Crenchaw Lemuel R. Custis Clarence Dart Alfonza W. Davis Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O) Charles DeBow Robert W. Deiz Gene Derricotte Lawrence Dickson Elwood T. Driver Charles W. Dryden Wilson V. Eagleson John Ellis Edwards Joseph Elsberry Raymond Cassagnol James Clayton Flowers Julius Freeman Robert Friend Willie H. Fuller Edward C. Gleed Joseph Gomer Alfred Gorham Oliver Goodall Charles B. Hall Vernon V. Haywood George Hardy Raymond V. Haysbert Percy Heath Mitchell Higginbotham Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Clarence C. Jamison Alexander Jefferson Carl C. Johnson James H. Harvey William Lee Hill Lincoln Hudson William H. Holloman George J. Iles James Johnson Kelly James B. Knighten George L. Knox II Roy E. LaGrone Herman A. Lawson Walter I. Lawson Clarence D. Lester Wilmore B. Leonard John Lyle Hiram Mann Walter Manning Robert Martin Armour G. McDaniel Charles McGee Walter L. McCreary John Mosley Fitzroy Newsum James O. Plinton Jr. Wendell O. Pruitt Louis R. Purnell Sr. Price D. Rice Lawrence E. Roberts George S. Roberts Curtis C. Robinson Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr. John W. Rogers Sr. Mac Ross Robert Searcy David Showell Wilmeth Sidat-Singh Graham Smith (pilot) Eugene Smith Calvin J. Spann Vernon Sport Lowell Steward Harry Stewart, Jr. Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr. Percy Sutton Alva Temple Roger Terry Lucius Theus Edward L. Toppins Robert B. Tresville Andrew D. Turner James A. Walker Spann Watson Luke J. Weathers Sherman W. White James T. Wiley Malvin "Mal" Whitfield Oscar Lawton Wilkerson Yancey Williams Romeo M. Williams Henry Wise Jr. Coleman Young
Incidents	Freeman Field mutiny
Aircraft	Bell P-39 Airacobra Curtiss P-40 Warhawk North American B-25 Mitchell North American P-51 Mustang Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Media	Fictional films The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) Hart's War (2002) Red Tails (2012) Documentaries Flight of the Red Tail (2009) Red Tail Reborn (2007) Wings for This Man Other Fly (play) Henry Browne, Farmer "Wingmen"
Legacy	Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk Red Tail Squadron Tuskegee University Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Other	Leslie Edwards Jr. Wilfred DeFour Maycie Herrington Buford A. Johnson Thomas Ellis Theodore Johnson Noel F. Parrish Wallace P. Reed Willie Rogers Thomas Franklin Vaughns
Related	African American military history Buffalo Soldier Golden Thirteen 366th Infantry Regiment U.S. Army Black Panthers United States Colored Troops
Category aviation portal

• Tuskegee Airmen
• United States Army Air Forces officers
• Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama
• African-American aviators
• Military personnel from North Carolina
• 1919 births
• 1951 deaths
• American military personnel killed in the Korean War
• American Korean War pilots
• Aviators killed by being shot down
• Military personnel missing in action