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| Owen S. Nibley
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| NO. 17716 • 30 January 1928 – 10 May 1982 |
Died in Bethesda, MD
Interred in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
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Owen Smoot Nibley was born and
raised in Washington, D.C. His mother was the daughter of the first senator
from Utah, Reed Smoot, and her father was also a native of Utah. Owen was named
after a relative, but his mother nicknamed him “Pete”, which was how he would
forever be known.
As a youth, Pete spent summers in rural Virginia
raising hunting dogs. He also earned many badges and honors as an Eagle Scout.
It was in the fifth grade that he met his future wife, Frances Elizabeth
“Betty” Browder. In 1941, however, Betty moved with her family to Honolulu,
where her father, a Naval Officer, had been transferred. Pete and Betty would
not see each other again until Christmas, 1949. Pete meanwhile continued his
education, graduating in 1946 from Columbia Preparatory School in Washington.
He obtained an appointment to West Point from Senator Thomas of Utah and
entered the Academy in 1946 as a member of the Class of 1950.
During his cadet days, Pete was well-liked for
his keen wit and his easygoing manner. His extracurricular activities included
fencing, membership in the Skeet and Fishing Clubs, and serving on the Howitzer
and Pointer staffs.
Upon graduation, Pete was commissioned in the
Air Force. Before reporting for primary flight training at Perrin Air Force
Base, TX, he married Betty on 2 August 1950. In 1951, the Nibleys were off to
Craig AFB in Selma, AL, for advanced flight training. There, their first son,
Andrew Matthews, was born. Pete completed that training and was awarded the
silver wings of an Air Force pilot. After gunnery school in 1952, he departed
for Korea to join the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing. He flew 70 combat
sorties in the P-51 Mustang and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and
the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster. During one sortie, he experienced a
near catastrophic mishap. His aircraft caught fire on take off, but Pete
managed to belly land on a sandbar in a dry riverbed without suffering injury.
During another sortie, his canopy was shot off. With help from his wingman,
Pete brought the aircraft back to base safely. He was awarded the Purple Heart
for the wound he received on that mission.
In 1952, Pete returned to the States to fly
support missions for ground control teams and taught in the All-Weather
Interceptor Program at Tyndall AFB, FL. At Tyndall, two more sons were born. Stuart
Browder in 1953 and Peter Smoot in 1956. The Nibley family moved to Arlington, VA
in 1958, for Pete to earn a Master’s Degree in International relations at George
Washington University. In 1958, the Family moved to Colorado Springs, CO,
where Pete joined the Political Science Department of the newly-established Air
Force Academy. Pete also flew training missions for cadets undergoing
navigation training, and was proud to be a member of the faculty when the first
class graduated in 1959.
In 1962, Pete pursued a Master’s Degree in
electrical engineering at the University of Illinois. Two years later, after
receiving that degree, the family moved to the DC area, where Pete served on
the Air Staff in the Office of the Director of Plans at the Pentagon. He also
earned his command pilot wings.
As the conflict in Viet Nam heated up, Pete
decided to volunteer for combat duty there. In 1967, Pete trained to fly C123’s
at Hurlburt Field near Eglin AFB and left for Viet Nam in August 1967 to join
the 311th Air Commando Squadron. Unfortunately, that tour was
curtailed because of his medical problems. In January 1968, he underwent
treatment at the hospital at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Pete retired from active
duty in May 1968 as a lieutenant colonel with 100 percent disability.
Pete received a second oak leaf cluster to the
Air Medal for his service in Viet Nam. His other military awards included the
Korean Service Medal with two bronze stars, the United Nations Service Medal,
the National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star, the Republic of Korea
Presidential Unit Citation, the Viet Nam Service Medal, and the Air Force
Commendation Medal.
Pete then began the most trying phase of his
life – a battle with depression and blindness as a result of his participation
in the Viet Nam war. Recuperation and training followed at the Veterans Administration
Blind Rehabilitation Center in Hines, IL. He attended other VA programs and
completed graduate seminars in public administration at American University in Washington,
D.C.
During rehabilitation, he also worked as a
volunteer labor management specialist for the DC Department of Human Services.
For his service, the Mayor of Washington presented him with the Distinguished
Service Award in October 1974. Because of his outstanding record, Pete was
hired as a labor-management relations specialist in the DC Department of Human
Resources and, in 1980, the U.S. Customs Service hired Pete to serve in the
same capacity. He served there until his death.
Pete’s death ended a courageous 14-year
battle with blindness and occasional depression. He always will be
remembered as a devoted father, husband, brother, and son. Academy
classmates and those who served with Pete will forever remember him.
He loved his family and his country, and was proud of his service in
the USAF and Civil Service.
- His loving wife, Elizabeth B. Nibley, and classmates
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USMA 1950