If asked how he became a pilot in the Marine Corps, Capt. Eli Smith would target mentors, prayers, a supportive wife and a lot of training.
Smith is an MV-22 Osprey pilot in the Marine Corps. The Osprey uses its two rotating engine nacelles to land and takeoff like a helicopter and fly like a plane and to stand out from other aircraft.
One of Smith's mentors is also unique. Smith's grandfather, Harold Michael Hoerning, whom he never met, was a sergeant major in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Consequently, military service was interesting to Smith, but not on his formal to do list.
"I always had something in the back of my mind that saw something awesome about that. It always attracted me to it," Smith said.
Read the full feature in the 7/16 Weekend edition of the Lacled County Record.
