Paul Smith, Hero of the Week
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a sin if not a crime how little we know about the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been fighting with great tenacity in Iraq and earned some of our nation's highest awards. President Bush has not publicized them because he would be accused of politicizing the war and exploiting the courage of these brave men and women. I think he should place them in the gallery at his State of the Union address and salute them, saying, "It's a hard job, a deadly job and in many cases a thankless job, but no matter what you think about the cause they fight for, these servicemen have acted heroically, and I applaud them." Oh well, I haven't been hired as a Presidential speechwriter yet. So, the job the Bush Administration has chosen not to do, the job the Drive-By Media won't do falls to the small-time blogosphere to publicize. For the record, most of the stories I have about heroism in Iraq have come from a number of articles in Human Events newspaper and online sources.
Our first Hero of the Week, naturally, is the only man thus far to earn the Medal of Honor for his heroic conduct in Iraq. Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith of Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, Task Force 2-7 Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, was a veteran of Desert Storm and had served terms in Bosnia and Kosovo. His engineer company led the battalion in support of Task Force 2-7 Infantry as they crossed into Iraq on March 19, 2003. They drove through the Karbala Gap in an all-night march on April 3, pressing towards Baghdad Airport.
On April 4, 2003, his unit was assigned to construct a POW holding area outside the airport and they chose to use a Republican Guard Complex for that function. When they knocked down a gate to the complex, a company-sized element of enemy soldiers came swarming out at them. Sergeant Smith had at hand only one Bradley Fighting vehicle, three M113 armored personnel carriers and two platoons of soldiers. Organizing a hasty defense, he personnally opened fire with an anti-tank weapon and hurled hand grenades at the Iraqi soldiers. When one armored personnel carrier (APC) sustained hits by an RPG and a 60mm mortar shell, Sergeant Smith assisted in evacuating three wounded men from the vehicle. As the Iraqis threatened to overrun his defenses, Sergeant Smith ran to a .50 caliber machine gun atop a damaged APC and began mowing down the advancing enemy troops. He had placed that particular APC at an intersection to block enemy penetration of his position, so there he took his stand. Firing for an hour and a half, Smith's only request to his men was that they furnish him more ammunition. The Iraqis had a command post in a tower with a mounted machine gun, from which they could lay down withering fire. Smith targeted several footsoldiers on each side of the CP, but could not dislodge the machine gun. Sergeant Smith was killed, but he held off the Iraqis long enough to prevent an overrun and to allow reinforcements to reach his position. After-action reports credited Sergeant First Class Paul Smith with 50 confirmed kills and over 100 American lives saved by his brave stand. He died, but not one of his men was killed that day. On April 4, 2005, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Smith's wife, Birgit Smith, and his children, David and Jessica. Today, Sergeant Smith's M4 carbine is on display at the Fort Stewart Museum in a display case adjacent to Audie Murphy's M1 carbine.
As a Platoon Sergeant, Paul Ray Smith took his responsibilities to his troops very seriously and sacrificed for them in a number of ways. His sister recounted how back at Fort Stewart he had driven an hour each evening to visit the baby daughter of one of his soldiers who was in the hospital. On another occasion, one of Sergeant Smith's soldiers had been unable to have Christmas with his kids due to his recent surgery. Sergeant Smith and his wife collected food from the Company Christmas party and bought presents for the children and took them to the soldier's home. In his last letter home to his parents, Sergeant Smith wrote about his pride in the privilege, "to be given 25 of the finest Americans we call Soldiers to lead into war." He pledged to give, "all that I am to ensure all of my boys make it home." All gave some, some gave all, but SFC Paul Smith, saved scores of lives while laying his down. He was 33.
It is a sin if not a crime how little we know about the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been fighting with great tenacity in Iraq and earned some of our nation's highest awards. President Bush has not publicized them because he would be accused of politicizing the war and exploiting the courage of these brave men and women. I think he should place them in the gallery at his State of the Union address and salute them, saying, "It's a hard job, a deadly job and in many cases a thankless job, but no matter what you think about the cause they fight for, these servicemen have acted heroically, and I applaud them." Oh well, I haven't been hired as a Presidential speechwriter yet. So, the job the Bush Administration has chosen not to do, the job the Drive-By Media won't do falls to the small-time blogosphere to publicize. For the record, most of the stories I have about heroism in Iraq have come from a number of articles in Human Events newspaper and online sources.
Our first Hero of the Week, naturally, is the only man thus far to earn the Medal of Honor for his heroic conduct in Iraq. Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith of Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, Task Force 2-7 Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, was a veteran of Desert Storm and had served terms in Bosnia and Kosovo. His engineer company led the battalion in support of Task Force 2-7 Infantry as they crossed into Iraq on March 19, 2003. They drove through the Karbala Gap in an all-night march on April 3, pressing towards Baghdad Airport.
On April 4, 2003, his unit was assigned to construct a POW holding area outside the airport and they chose to use a Republican Guard Complex for that function. When they knocked down a gate to the complex, a company-sized element of enemy soldiers came swarming out at them. Sergeant Smith had at hand only one Bradley Fighting vehicle, three M113 armored personnel carriers and two platoons of soldiers. Organizing a hasty defense, he personnally opened fire with an anti-tank weapon and hurled hand grenades at the Iraqi soldiers. When one armored personnel carrier (APC) sustained hits by an RPG and a 60mm mortar shell, Sergeant Smith assisted in evacuating three wounded men from the vehicle. As the Iraqis threatened to overrun his defenses, Sergeant Smith ran to a .50 caliber machine gun atop a damaged APC and began mowing down the advancing enemy troops. He had placed that particular APC at an intersection to block enemy penetration of his position, so there he took his stand. Firing for an hour and a half, Smith's only request to his men was that they furnish him more ammunition. The Iraqis had a command post in a tower with a mounted machine gun, from which they could lay down withering fire. Smith targeted several footsoldiers on each side of the CP, but could not dislodge the machine gun. Sergeant Smith was killed, but he held off the Iraqis long enough to prevent an overrun and to allow reinforcements to reach his position. After-action reports credited Sergeant First Class Paul Smith with 50 confirmed kills and over 100 American lives saved by his brave stand. He died, but not one of his men was killed that day. On April 4, 2005, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Smith's wife, Birgit Smith, and his children, David and Jessica. Today, Sergeant Smith's M4 carbine is on display at the Fort Stewart Museum in a display case adjacent to Audie Murphy's M1 carbine.
As a Platoon Sergeant, Paul Ray Smith took his responsibilities to his troops very seriously and sacrificed for them in a number of ways. His sister recounted how back at Fort Stewart he had driven an hour each evening to visit the baby daughter of one of his soldiers who was in the hospital. On another occasion, one of Sergeant Smith's soldiers had been unable to have Christmas with his kids due to his recent surgery. Sergeant Smith and his wife collected food from the Company Christmas party and bought presents for the children and took them to the soldier's home. In his last letter home to his parents, Sergeant Smith wrote about his pride in the privilege, "to be given 25 of the finest Americans we call Soldiers to lead into war." He pledged to give, "all that I am to ensure all of my boys make it home." All gave some, some gave all, but SFC Paul Smith, saved scores of lives while laying his down. He was 33.
posted by Bountyhawk at 9:11 AM
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