Philip E. Smith

Philip Eldon Smith (born 15 October 1934) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot who was held captive in China for seven and a half years.

[3] On 20 September 1965 Smith was flying his F-104C #56-883 on a mission to escort an EC-121 over the Gulf of Tonkin when due to equipment failure and incorrect navigational commands he strayed into Chinese airspace over Hainan.

His aircraft was intercepted and shot down by two Shenyang J-6 fighters of the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force near Haikou.

Most of his captivity was spent in solitary confinement; however, he did meet John T. Downey and Richard Fecteau both of whom were CIA agents captured in 1952.

[7] Due to improving US-China relations following President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, Smith and United States Navy Commander Robert J. Flynn who was shot down in 1967 were released on 15 March 1973, crossing the land border into the British Hong Kong where they were received by a representative of the American Red Cross and U.S. consular officials.