Retired sergeant talks about time in top secret U-2 project
Spy plane used in Cold War, other assignments
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers RISKY BUSINESS- Camarillo resident Bill Smith holds aloft a model of a U-2 spy plane. Smith, a retired Air Force tech sergeant, worked on the highly classified project in the 1960s that helped U.S. intelligence agencies track Soviet military movements during the Cold War.

Bill Smith has had so many close calls, he makes Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible" look like an antique salesman.

"There was terror and adventure," Smith said.

Smith, 77, worked on the U-2 spy plane project from 1960 to 1964 at the height of the Cold War. With the U-2 becoming nearly obsolete in the wake of stealth aircraft, Smith felt comfortable talking about his experiences working for the CIA- "the company"- for the first time ever.

The longtime Camarillo resident, a tech sergeant in the U.S Air Force, helped the U-2 pilots into pressurized space suits and into the cockpit.

Smith calls the pilots and colleagues he worked with heroes, but he refused to be categorized with such a distinction.

"I was just a run-of-the-mill, typical, everyday GI," Smith said. "Everyone I met on the project- they were genuine heroes."

After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1947, Smith realized that to get promoted for bigger projects, he had to work closely with the pilots. The tech sergeant learned about pressure suits in Mobile, Ala., during his time with the Strategic Air Command and soon was interviewed for a highly secretive position with the U-2 project.

Smith was selected for the top secret program and was ready to leave for his first assignment in Turkey when Gary Powers crashed his spy plane in the former Soviet Union on May 1, 1960.

The crash- because it proved U.S. pilots were flying spy missions over Russia- made international headlines and further heightened Cold War tensions between the two countries. Smith eventually met Powers after his release from Russia.

Political pressure caused the Air Force to close the base in Turkey, and Smith was sent to work at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. Smith spent most of his time traveling across the globe, primarily in the Far East.

The U2, a lightweight surveillance plane that could fly higher than any other aircraft at the time, was also extremely difficult to land.

Awaiting the arrival of U-2 pilot Buster Eugene Edens in 1963, Smith and an operation officer sat in a recovery vehicle while a firetruck was on standby. Edens, however, fell short of the runway and landed the spy plane too fast, skipping the plane along the runway.

The plane caught fire, but the fire engine stalled and couldn't make it to the plane. Smith and the other officer raced to Edens, pulling the pilot out moments before the U-2 exploded. Edens died in a crash two years later.

The tech sergeant had other close calls.

A plane he was riding in lost engine power over the Pacific Ocean and had to make an emergency landing in Hawaii. In another close call, Smith was flying out of Okinawa, Japan, when the plane's air conditioning unit and wiring caught fire. The plane was able to return to Okinawa after dumping fuel over the ocean.

Smith also almost lost his life when a plane he was in lost power in two engines over Iwo Jima.

"It was amazing to see the beaches where we lost so many GIs," Smith said of Iwo Jima, the sight of one of the most brutal battles in World War II. "This was 16 years after American forces first landed there. The beaches were still littered with equipment and pillboxes."

In 1964, Smith was asked to continue working on the U-2 project, but the tech sergeant declined. He wanted to spend more time with his wife, Bernice, and their four children. He retired from the Air Force in 1967, the same year his family moved to Camarillo. He and Bernice have been married 57 years.

Smith retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1989 and remains busy. For the last six years, he's worked part time for his son, Daniel, 51, who owns Debt Termination Services, located near the Camarillo Airport. Smith's other children are Gerri, 56; Bill Jr., 53; and James, 47. Bill and James also served in the U.S. Air Force.

Working on the U-2 project is something Smith will never forget.

"The U-2 was a milestone in the history of the United States," he said. "It's great to be a part of it in its early stages. . . . It was the best four years of my military career."