Neal Smith (politician)

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Neal Edward Smith (b. March 23, 1920, in his grandparents' home near Hedrick, Keokuk County, Iowa) was a member of the House of Representatives from Iowa from 1959 till 1995--the longest period of time any Iowa Representative has ever served in the United States House of Representatives. He served in the United States Army Air Force 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 the negative campaign of Greg Ganske.

The Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa is named after the former Congressman. The Neal and Bea Smith Law School is named after the former congressman and his wife.

In 1996 Smith published his autobiography, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: From Eisenhower to Clinton.