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Iraqi War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, US Army
Operation Iraqi Freedom Medal of Honor recipient now in Hall of Heroes
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld addresses at the honor ceremony of Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith at the Pentagon in Washington April 5, 2005. The Medal of Honor was bestowed posthumously on Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed protecting at least 100 American soldiers during a battle near Baghdad International Airport on April 4, 2003. Reuters/Yuri Gripas
Birgit Smith (L), the widow of Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, and son David, 11, stand during a honor ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington April 5, 2005. The Medal of Honor was bestowed posthumously on his father, Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed protecting at least 100 American soldiers during a battle near Baghdad International Airport on April 4, 2003. Reuters/Yuri Gripas
By Eric W. Cramer
April 5, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Army News Service, April 5, 2005) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld joined the Smith family in placing Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith in the Pentagons Hall of Heroes during a ceremony today.
Rumsfeld pointed out that the World Trade Center opened 32 years ago this week. He said it was hard to understand the evil that drove extremists to topple those towers and rip an ugly gash in this building (the Pentagon).
But this much we do know. From our earliest days, America has had the good fortune to be blessed by volunteers who have stepped forward to defend our citizens and our way of life, Rumsfeld said. A few of them have famous names, some undertake crucial missions in secret, and others live in gracious anonymity. But each is driven, I believe, by love of country, a devotion to duty, and the hope of leaving their loved ones and future generations a safer world.
The secretary welcomed Smiths family, and his parents who he said, Saw their boy become a man who crossed deserts to topple tyrants.
And now Paul joins Americas most admired fraternity -- those awarded the Medal of Honor for service above and beyond the call of duty. Rumsfeld said. It is a fraternity so revered that President Harry S. Truman once confided to a soldier he decorated: Id rather have this medal than be president.
Also speaking at Tuesdays ceremony were Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker and Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey.
The ceremony proceeded as Rumsfeld, the family and other dignitaries unveiled a portrait of Smith and a plaque for Medal of Honor recipients from the War on Terror, currently bearing only Smiths name.
Birgit Smith said she was proud for her family to receive the medal in her husbands name.
Paul loved his country, he loved the Army, he loved his Soldiers and he loved being a Sapper. He died doing what he loved. Im grateful the Army gave Paul the opportunity to fulfill his dream of serving his country, she said.
I would like to thank all of the Soldiers who influenced Paul as he advanced through his military career. Most described him as tough, fair, and always putting the mission and his Soldiers first, Birgit Smith said. Paul was proud of all of his troops, particularly those in 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 11th Engineers. He was dedicated to duty and unwilling to accept less than the best.
Birgit Smith, who was born in Germany, said her husband would be proud to know she has begun the work to become a U.S. citizen.
Because of this award, Pauls story of uncommon valor will forever be remembered, she said. As Soldiers, I encourage you to tell your stories, because the American people and the world will better understand the sacrifices of Paul, and others like him, one Soldiers story at a time. Hoo-ah and God bless.
Birgit Smith, widow of Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, is wrought with emotion as she speaks during a ceremony honoring her husband who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor at the Pentagon Tuesday, April 5, 2005, outside Washington. Smith, from Tampa, Fla., who was killed two years ago in Iraq while exposing himself to enemy fire saving at least 100 of his fellow soldiers, received the nation's highest award for valor on Monday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
April 6, 2005 -- WASHINGTON The widow of tragic Medal of Honor hero Sgt. Paul R. Smith will make an emotional visit to Ground Zero tomorrow to see firsthand "what her husband died for," a family spokeswoman said last night.
German-born Birgit Smith will visit the site of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, accompanied by Bronx-born Lt. Col. Thomas Smith, the commander of Smith's 11th Army Engineering Company.
"This was arranged at her own personal request. She thought it was important for her to go to Ground Zero. She said she wanted to see what her husband died for," a family spokeswoman told The NY Post.
"Sixty years ago, American soldiers liberated the German people from tyranny in World War II," Mrs. Smith said at a Pentagon ceremony yesterday.
"Today, another generation of American soldiers has given the Iraqis, the Afghan people a birth of freedom. This is an ideal that Paul truly believed in."
President Bush on Monday presented Smith and the couple's 11-year-old son, David, with the first Medal of Honor of the war on terror.
Sgt. Smith, a father of two from Tampa, Fla., was killed April 4, 2003, defending his vastly outnumbered engineering battalion against an Iraqi Republican Guard counter-attack at Baghdad Airport during the initial U.S. assault on Iraq.
Yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military leaders attended a ceremony in which a plaque with Smith's name was placed in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
Arlington Cemetery marker memorializes Medal of Honor Recipient
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