Neal Edward Smith was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa from 1959 until 1995 ? the longest-serving Iowan in the United States House of Representatives. He was born in his grandparents' home near Hedrick, Keokuk County, Iowa. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War as a bomber pilot. His plane was shot down and he received a Purple Heart, nine Battle stars, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. He received his undergraduate training at the University of Missouri and Syracuse University and received a law degree from Drake University in 1950. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the Democratic landslide of 1958 and served in Congress from 1959 to 1995. He was defeated in the Republican landslide of 1994 by Greg Ganske. Neal Smith married Beatrice Haven and had two kids, Doug and Sharon. The Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa is named after the former congressman. The Neal and Bea Smith Law Center at Drake University is named after the former congressman and his wife. In 1996 Smith published his autobiography, Mr. Smith Went to Washington: From Eisenhower to Clinton. 

March 23rd, 1920 in Hedrick, Iowa  /  Died:   Nov 2nd, 2021 - aged 101