Marine Corps Service
After graduation, Smith joined in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for four years, from 1966 to 1969, as a platoon leader and a forward air controller (FAC), flying in the back seat of the OV-10. Much mythology exists about this part of his life; Smith was a Marine Corps "Ground Officer" for his entire service. He was specially trained to fly with pilots and observe and 'control' ground action. He never went through Navy flight training and was not a "Naval aviator" or "pilot" in the military. Individuals who completed Navy flight training and became a "Designated Naval Aviator" (pilot) were obligated to serve six years at the time.
As a Marine, Smith had the opportunity to observe the military's logistics system first hand. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, flying with pilots on over 200 combat missions. He was honorably discharged in 1969 with the rank of Captain, having received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. While in the military, Smith carefully observed the procurement and delivery procedures, fine-tuning his dream for an overnight delivery service.
Smith also served with, and became a personal friend of, legendary Special Forces-Intelligence hero Marine Lt. Col. William V. "Bill" Cowan during his Vietnam service. Cowan's wvc3 group is famous for daring hostage rescues, and assisted Smith in FedEx's expansion into the Middle East.
Read more about this topic: Frederick W. Smith
Famous quotes containing the words marine, corps and/or service:
“God has a hard-on for a Marine because we kill everything we see. He plays His game, we play ours.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)
“The Washington press corps thinks that Julie Nixon Eisenhower is the only member of the Nixon Administration who has any credibility—and, as one journalist put it, this is not to say that anyone believes what she is saying but simply that people believe she believes what she is saying ... it is almost as if she is the only woman in America over the age of twenty who still thinks her father is exactly what she thought he was when she was six.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)
“Barnard’s greatest war service ... was the continuance of full-scale instruction in the liberal arts ... It was Barnard’s responsibility to keep alive in the minds of young people the great liberal tradition of the past and the study of philosophy, of history, of Greek.”
—Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve (1877–1965)