Willard J. Smith
Encyclopedia
Willard John Smith served as the thirteenth Commandant
Commandant of the Coast Guard
The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard is the highest ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The Commandant is normally the only four-star Admiral in the Coast Guard and is appointed for a four-year term by the President of the United States upon confirmation by the United...

 of the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 from 1966 to 1970.

He was born in Suttons Bay, Michigan
Suttons Bay, Michigan
Suttons Bay is a village in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 589 at the 2000 census. The village was incorporated in 1898 and is located within Suttons Bay Township....

 and was the son of Oscar Smith, a Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard and his wife, Emma Bequist. Upon graduation from high school in Charlevoix, Michigan
Charlevoix, Michigan
Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,994. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County....

, he entered the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, but later transferred to the United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...

 in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

.

Upon graduation from the Academy in 1933, he was assigned to a Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

-based Coast Guard cutter and later served as an Aide to Commandant Russell R. Waesche
Russell R. Waesche
Russell Randolph Waesche, Sr. . Waesche served as the eighth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1936 to 1946, overseeing the service during World War II. He also holds the distinction of being the longest serving Commandant, serving ten years in command of the United States Coast Guard...

 from 1936 to 1939. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he was assigned to the Coast Guard's aviation branch and was responsible for the construction and commissioning of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California at the San Francisco International Airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County...

, California, where he was assigned to duty until 1946. From 1946 to 1948, he served as commander of Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City
Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City
Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City was established in 1946 and is a part of the United States Coast Guard's Ninth District It is situated on the southern end of Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan. Since 1995, Air Station Traverse City has controlled and manned Air Facilities throughout...

, Michigan before his assignment as Assistant Chief of the Coast Guard's Aviation Division from 1948 to 1950. From 1950 to 1951, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. From 1962 to 1965, he served as Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy.

From 1965, until his appointment as Commandant, he served as Commander of the Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

-based 9th Coast Guard District. As Commandant in 1967, he oversaw the transfer of the Coast Guard from the United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

 to the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

.

Upon completion of his service as Coast Guard Commandant in June 1970, he moved to Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...

. The following October, he was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Safety and Consumer Affairs at the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

, serving until July 1971, when he returned to Traverse City. In 1973 he became Admiral of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy
Great Lakes Maritime Academy
The Great Lakes Maritime Academy at Northwestern Michigan College is located on West Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. The academy was established in 1969 to train men and women to be licensed mariners on ships of unlimited tonnage or horsepower; including research vessels, cruise...

 in Traverse City, Michigan and held the position until 1974.

His wife, the former Harriet A. Lary died on February 2, 2000, two months before he himself died, aged 89 in Atlantic Beach, Florida
Atlantic Beach, Florida
Atlantic Beach, a city in Duval County, Florida, is the northernmost of the Jacksonville Beaches communities. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with Jacksonville, Florida in 1968, Atlantic Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Baldwin, Florida,...

.

Following cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

, his remains were interred alongside his late wife's remains in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

. At the time of his death, he was the oldest-living former Coast Guard Commandant.
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