Gen. Jacob Edward Smart, a Jasper County native who was a decorated veteran of World War II and the Vietnam and Korean wars, died Sunday in his Ridgeland home. He was 97.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1966 as a four-star general, Smart returned to Ridgeland and was active in the Jasper County Historical Society. He led the construction of a county museum and in the last decade of his life authored a book on Lowcountry families in World War II.

His son, Bill Smart, said he exemplified a man of war, a loving father and proud community member.

"I know that he would like to be recognized for his service to his country, but I also know he was very proud of his community and gratified to do what he could to make his community a better place," Bill Smart said.

Jacob Smart was born in Ridgeland on

May 31, 1909, the son of William Edward Smart and Alma Nettles Smart.

He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1931. As a World War II pilot, he participated in strikes against Nazi facilities across Europe until his aircraft was shot down by enemy fire May 10, 1944. During a raid over Austria, his aircraft exploded, killing seven of 10 men on board.

Smart was held as a prisoner of war in several German camps until being liberated by Gen. George S. Patton's forces in 1945 -- an experience that changed his life forever, he wrote in 1994.

"It changed his perspective on life, and it certainly, I believe, helped him focus on the importance of family," Bill Smart said. He was confident he would return home safely and his concern was instead for how his family would take the news of his capture.

Aside from his skills in flight and combat, Smart also was talented and accomplished as a statesman, his son said. He was a member of an advisory board under Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold and involved in the Washington, Casablanca and Quebec conferences in which the Allies planned World War II

strategy.

His German captors were aware of it as well, Bill Smart said -- while he recuperated from his injuries, he was approached by Germans who planned to assassinate Hitler and wanted to arrange for the negotiation of surrender afterward.

During the Korean War, he worked with the Japanese government to help coordinate the country's defensive air force, Bill Smart said.

After retiring from the military, the general briefly worked for NASA before returning to Ridgeland, where he cared for his parents. He later devoted much of his time to the Jasper County Historical Society, serving as the group's treasurer, vice president and president.

He authored two books; the first, "A Survival Manual for Museum Builders," he wrote while president of the society as a tongue-in-cheek account of the group's experience building a museum. The museum in Ridgeland houses many of his artifacts and photos today.

He also wrote "Lowcountry Families in World War II: A Memorial," a 1,100-page, 10-year work that he began at age 85 and dedicated to the 3,000 Lowcountry residents who fought in the war.

"I did this for the children and grandchildren of World War II veterans," Smart told The Gazette in 2004. "I would like to think the short histories and biographies will be useful to a younger generation."

But the general didn't talk much about his war experiences, his son said. "He was not one to rest on his military laurels," Bill Smart said.

"He was such a loving and caring and gentle man, and a hell of a warrior, too. The side that he showed his family was always that of a loving father, and there is no dichotomy there -- he is a perfect example of how that can be done," Bill Smart said.

The general is survived by a daughter, Jacklyn S. Freeman, 68, of Ben Lomand, Calif.; his son, Bill Smart, 65, of Whitehall, Mont.; his companion and caregiver who worked for his family for 44 years, Setsuko Saito of Ridgeland; 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two daughters, Rosemary S. Ellis Burt and Joan S. Pedersen. He is also survived by his former wife, Elizabeth Melton, 91, whom he divorced in 1946 but was close to before his death.

A graveside service with full military honors will be held at

2 p.m. Thursday in the Ridgeland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to a charity of the donor's choice. Sauls Funeral Home is in charge.