Willem Smit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section may be confusing or unclear for many readers.
Please improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Willem Smit perished in South America sometime in the 1960s, though during the 1970s there were reports that he worked to foment revolution in other parts of the world. Smit was born in 1935, the son of a poor family which scraped enough money together in order to ensure a fairly advanced level of education for young Smit. In his early years, he enjoyed sport and was found to be an especially excellent marksman.

This natural ability led him to pursue a career in the military and eventually led to his being recruited to work for the Caribbean Marine Aero Corporation which was revealed to be a front company for the CIA. While Smit was not a US National, he was skilled at his job and so worked tirelessly in the Congo during the tumultuous time the Aero Corporation functioned. Once the conflict finished, Smit found himself in need of a new occupation.

Luckily he was protected under the CIA's wing and began serving US Interests in South America. It is here where Smit's story becomes vague and undefined: while on a mission to subdue communist forces in Bolivia, he disappeared. In all likelihood, Smit perished. However, in the 1980s, Smit was found running a Pawn Shop in Los Alamos, New Mexico, near a US Installation. Smit explained to a startled researcher that he had retired, using the money he earned over the years to buy the shop in order to 'give himself something to do all day.' Smit was one of the many unique individuals produced during the Cold War years and his story displays US meddling in foreign policy as well as the grace of the US in allowing someone like Smit to stay until their dying day.