Neal Smith dead at 101 – Iowa's longest-serving Congressman and former World War II bomber pilot passes away

IOWA'S longest-serving US House member Neal Smith died at the age of 101.

Smith, who was a World War II bomber pilot before becoming a successful lawyer, served over 36 years in Congress.

Smith died on Tuesday according to Drake University Law School Dean Jerry Anderson, who was told by the Smith family.

A Democrat, Smith was known as a quiet leader who worked to secure federal funding for dams and reservoirs that safeguarded cities from flooding and also created lakes for recreation.

Red Rock, Saylorville and Rathbun Lakes were renowned by Smith, who said their creations changed the way people viewed the Des Moines River Valley.

Smith went as far as to call it a "big asset instead of a liability: when developing downtown Des Moines.

"It used to be on weekends you didn’t have a place to go unless you were wealthy enough have a place up in the northern Great Lakes," Smith said in 2015.

"Most people didn’t have place to go to especially to be in nature."

Smith was born on March 23, 1920 in a small southeast Iowa town in a home owned by his grandparents that went as far as when his great-grandfather settled in 1850.

More to follow…

For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.

The-sun.com is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sport news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheUSSun.

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The US Sun team?

Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS

    Source: Read Full Article

    Previous post Kimberly Wyatt Gets Herself Sterilized After Three Children With Husband Max Rogers
    Next post Mystery grandparents pay off dozens of toy shop laybys