COLD WAR HERO

Air Classics, Mar 2005 by Pahl, Gerard

Five terrorists were holding him in the apartment of a Spanish-born "society artist." One newspaper reported the artist to be the head of the subversive " group. SmtX was released after 86 hours and said he had been well-treated. Embassy officials felt his release was because police were getting close, but ' Mike felt it was because of a plea from his mother that was printed in the New York Herald: "I am an old woman," it said. "I know little about politics. I know little about the world. My world is my family. My love is for my children. You say you will kill my son, Lt. Col. Michael Smolen. I can do nothing but weep. I weep and I hope that you will spare the life of my boy, and send him back to his father and me. As your mothers would plead for you, I plead for my son. Let him live. I beg this of you."

Eventually all the kidnapers, the artist and his wife were captured. Weapons, bombs and a large sign printed roughly in Spanish calling for the Yankees to get out of Venezuela were found in the apartment. Van Troi was executed on 14 October 1964. Though Smoe had the opportunity to return to the United States after the kidnapping, he chose to stay in Venezuela - he liked the people , and he liked the job.

Though he had time in F-86 Sabres, F-104 Starfighters, and F-105 Thunderchiefs, years later, Smoe was preparing to go to Vietnam to command a squadron of AC-47s (Puff, the Magic Dragons). Unfortunately, Smolen suffered a stroke shortly after jungle training. To this day his widow Marian believes that the drill instructor putting him through jungle warfare training caused the stroke by making Smoe trudge a mile though , the jungle while on his elbows. She feels the pressure caused him to have the stroke. It could have been worse - it appears Smoe had a minor stroke in his kitchen. His daughter Vicki asked him if he was OK, but it was obvious, he was not. He was dazed and disoriented so Marian got him to the hospital where he had a major stroke. Fighter that he was and with the help of his loving wife, Mike recovered from the debilitating effects of the stroke, but had to retire at the rank of colonel in 1968.

Michael Smolen died on 13 April 1987 in Mesa Lutheran Hospital trying to recover from a minor stroke and a heart attack. Vicki was talking to him at his bedside when he suffered a major heart ' attack and though the doctors did all they could to save him, he passed away.

His aircraft, Shooting Star P-80A-LO s/n 44-85152 was from the first production batch of .345 aircraft. Ordered in 4 1944, it was the 161st P-80 to come down the production line and was built as WWII ended. The Army Air Force accepted it on 26 December 1945. From January 1946 to August 1948 it served in the 3010 AAF Base Unit (Advanced Single-engine Pilot School, Air Training Command) at Williams. It then went to the 3525th Pilot Training Wing, still at Williams where it was converted to a ground instructional airframe. It was on blocks with dual instruments in a control house where emergencies could be simulated. In October 1950, it was dropped from inventory - but, as we shall see, it continued to serve later in life.