In Memory

James Lawton Smee - Class Of 1966

James Lawton Smee

I happened upon the website and the memorial page for Jim. I am Jim's widow. I live in Burke, VA.

His twin sister Cindy lives in Palm Springs, a brother Steve is in Denver, and older sister Christine is in San Diego. Jim's best friend from high school was Jim Craig who went to West Point after graduation. He and Jim use to bet bathrobes on the Army-Navy game. Jim Smee lost three bathrobes.

Jim was killed in a test flight in Arizona in 1984. The bench you show on the website with his name is a family memorial in Colorado. Jim is buried in Arlington National Cemetary - section 60.

Below is the entry I wrote for the USNA 40th reunion yearbook in September 2010.

Jim visited the Naval Academy as an eight-year old and had his picture taken in front of Tecumseh. Despite being the son of an Army colonel, he announced that he wanted to be the captain of a Naval ship. Interestingly enough, at service selection night, he went Marine Air. Jim began flight training in April 1971 in Pensacola, after completing The Basic School at Quantico. He received his wings in Kingsville, Texas in October 1972. His first assignment was F-4 squadron VMFA 235 in Kaneohe, Hawaii. He was selected for the Olmsted Scholar Program, class of 1975, and spent two years at the Institut d’Etude Politiques in Grenoble, France. Upon his return, he was deployed for a year to Iwakuni, Japan. After attending Amphibious Warfare School in 1978-9, he spent three years in Beaufort with VMFA 122 and 312, deploying to Iwakuni as the Operations Officer of VMFA 312. In January 1983, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk. In August 1983, he was assigned to
MAWTS-1 in Yuma, Arizona. At the time of his death in May 1984, he was serving as the Operations Officer of MAWTS-1.
Jim married Susan Garnett in September, 1970, in Ft. Riley, Kansas. They have two daughters, Melissa Kristine Smee Walker and Sarah “Gayle” Smee Minden. Melissa lives in Nashville with her husband Tim, and has three children: James Lawton, Katherine Alexandra, and Margaret Susan. Gayle lives in Denver with her husband, Vaun, and has one child: Zoe Elizabeth. Susan Smee lives in Burke, Virginia. We miss Jim every day.



 
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09/07/10 07:14 AM #1    

Deborah Anne Outten (Fisk) (1966)

Found on the United States Naval Academy Alumni Website:

Jim graduated in 1970 - he was honored with the Olmsted Scholarship

The Olmsted Scholarship is offered to three career line officers from each of the three military departments. The recipients receive an educational grant for two years of graduate study in a foreign language and other educational experiences in a foreign country.


09/07/10 07:18 AM #2    

Deborah Anne Outten (Fisk) (1966)

Hillside Cemetery

Ft. Lupton, Weld County, Colorado

 

Died 1984

 


09/07/10 07:30 AM #3    

Deborah Anne Outten (Fisk) (1966)

JAMES LAWTON SMEE

First coming to Anapopolis from Tehran, Jim, a defec- tor from an Army family, occasionally called Fort Lup- ton, Colorado, Fort Monroe, Virginia, or San Francisco, home. After spending Plebe year as an intromurol |0ck, he renounced the dusty fields for the musty cor- ner of Moury Hall that houses the debate team, where he became a member of the first string. As the result of his debating feats, Jim managed to avoid the Naval Academy on weekends, but still managed to remain high in the class. Although his workouts were primar- ily composed of acarrying around two bags of file cards, while leaving the more difficult evidence carry- ing to his infearious forensic colleague, the Dwarf, Jim managed to try soiling and squash os well. His mili- tary and academic prowess, tied with a truly genuine interest in others, will make him a fine officer.


04/20/11 06:11 PM #4    

Pamala Ann Smith (Szynal) (1966)

Jim and Cindy were among my friends when we all lived at Ft, Monroe. Janice Brimberry's comment that "Jim was a gentleman" was so true. I am sorry that I did not know that he has a daughter living in Denver as I just returned from there.


05/31/11 12:39 AM #5    

Janice Lee Brimberry (White) (1966)

IN MEMORY 1984 JAMES LAWTON SMEE

One of Sue Smee's favorite photographs of her husband Jim Smee was taken the year 1984 at the Squadron Ready Room in Yuma, Arizona just a few weeks prior to Jim's death. Jim Smee died in an accident caused by a mechanical failure during a test flight. Jim Smee's remains were buried at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia (section 60), and Jim's name was etched on the Smee Family Memorial at Fort Lupton, Colorado. Jim and Sue's daughters were ages ten and 12 at the time of his death. Jim Smee's legacy has continued with three granddaughters and with a grandson who carries Jim's name. 

Jim Smee was graduated at the top (number three) in the Class of 1970 at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Jim chose Marine Air for his service selection. Jim studied two years as a distinguished Olmsted Scholar in the Class of 1975 at the Institut d'Etude Politques in Grenoble, France.

Jim and Cindy Smee, twin siblings, were active members of the Class of 1966 at Kecoughtan High School. Jim and Cindy Smee completed their senior year of high school in the Middle East, after their military father was transferred from Fort Monroe, Virginia to Iran. 


05/31/11 12:55 AM #6    

Janice Lee Brimberry (White) (1966)

September 1970 James Lawton Smee married Susan (nee Susan Garnett) at Fort Riley Chapel, Kansas. Jim and Sue met and dated at the Presidio Army Post of San Francisco, CA, where their military fathers were stationed. 


06/21/12 06:49 PM #7    

Earl P. Bell, Jr.

As many of you know, Jim debated for me at Kecoughtan.   It was quite a group of outstanding people including John Curtis and Susan Locke.  Was there anything Jim did that he did not excel doing?  He was an academic superstar and he deeply admire living a life of adventure.  I remember a United States history class in which I was explaining existentialism.  Jim kept laughing at the basic ideas driving the theory.  Finally, after giving him a few looks did not work, I ask him to explain his laughter.  He responded with "what a goofy idea, that life means nothing.   Who takes such foolishness seriously?"  Simply, I believe it was the antithesis of everything in which he believed. 

Since student government controlled much of the student activities budget the debate team sought to assure our funding/  So, we decided to run John Curtis for President.  Anyone remember who ran against him?  Jim was John's campaign manager and ran a highly organized, successful operation breaking down all the student friendship groups and recruiting the leaders in each one to help John.  I remember in the Assembly when the candidates spoke before the whole student body, John said, "One of my qualifications for office that has been over looked is that for one whole year I lived In Phoebus."  It was followed by an immediate and ear splitting roar!

In terms of homework, he turned in every paper early and would ask me, "what do you want me to read while everyone is finsihing the assignment?  Before I could get out an answer, he once said, "What are you reading?"  Also, he excelled in bull-in-the-ring drill at football practice.  

When he left for Annapolis, we stayed close.  After a couple of weeks there he called me and during the conversation told me he was taking some courses at the University of Maryland to keep his mind alive [almost a direct quote, by the way]. 

Then in the spring of 1967, I moved to Chicago to teach United States history and coach debate  in a private school.  The first two years here were intense mostly focused on building a national powerhouse in debate.  My kids in Chicago graduated and two of our superstars won full debate scholarship to Northwestern, a long standing college debate powerhouse.  One of them won college nationals and his partner won the most individual speaking awards in college competition up to that time [his is now the Dean of the Law School at The University of California, Irving].   I, of course, was in contact with Jim and knew he was debating for Annapolis.  I keep telling my two Chicago debaters, there is a killer out there and he debates for Navy.  They kept telling me that they had never seen him or Navy at a major competition.  Then, Jim's senior year, I believe, after college nationals, one them called me.  He had watched Jim debate.  He loved him and kept saying, "You are right, he is a killer."  It all boiled down to the fact that Jim did not have a real coach or a partner who knew what he was doing, however, no problem - Mr. Smee was carrying the mail.  How did he do, he made the semis, the man was unbelievable!  There was not much academic he could not handle with consistent excellence.

In teaching at Kecoughtan and at an elite private school here in Chicago for 40 years, Jim Smee was the equal to any student I ever taught.  In fact, a substantail number of my Kecoughtan students rank with the best students I taught here is Chicago at The Laboratory Schools of The University of Chicago.  I think of him often, his loss hurts as I write and I send my warmest wishes for good health and a long life to his wife, their children, to Cindy and all the Smee family.  As John Curtis said, if Jim had lived, he probably would have run the Joint Chiefs, with excellence, of course.

Earl Bell


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