A Profile in Valor from Operation Iraqi Freedom

[darrels joy]

A Profile in Valor from Operation Iraqi Freedom
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003
Washington, D.C. -- One of the highlights of the Association of the U.S. Army?s annual meeting at the New Washington Convention Center (Oct. 6-8) was the cadre of young decorated heroes fresh back from the fighting in Iraq who were invited to participate in this year?s events.
When NewsMax caught up with a couple of them, however, it wasn?t their own war stories that flowed, but the tale of valor of one of their own -- Sergeant First Class Paul Smith, age 33, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division, who died heroically leading his squad in battle Friday, April 4, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Smith is the first soldier recommended for the Medal of Honor, the country?s highest decoration for valor in combat, since the Global War on Terrorism combat period began. The convention featured a display honoring the fallen American hero.

Staff Sergeant Charles McNally, also of the 11th Engineers, told NewsMax, ?I believe in my heart that he deserves and will get the award.? His friend and fellow combat veteran, Sergeant E-5 David S. Spooner said simply, ?I agree.?

The two soldiers described that in the fighting to take the airport at Baghdad, the unit came under intense mortar and small arms fire. They told how Sergeant E-5 Lewis Berwald was manning a big 50 caliber machine gun mounted on the top of an armored personnel carrier, blasting away at the enemy through two and one-half boxes of the heavy ammo before being knocked out of action by a mortar explosion.

Smith immediately exposed himself to the incoming fusillade and took over the gun.

During a keynote address at the AUSA convention, the senior U.S. commander on the ground in Iraq, Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, noted Smith?s actions:

?Sergeant Smith directed fire of his unit, led casualty evacuation under intense fire.?

Wallace said that Smith told his men, ?Every time you hear the .50 caliber go silent. Hand me up a can of ammo."

"The gun went silent three times. The fourth time, there was no call [for more ammo],? Wallace said in describing how the counterattack from the Republican Guards was finally broken by Smith's fire direction.

Smith had been killed by enemy small arms fire. Berwall, the man he relieved on the gun, survived his wounds.

Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, now commanding general of the Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, said of the troops he led: ?They were every thing you could want in a soldier. They were everything you could want in an American.?

SFC Smith was a native of El Paso, Texas. Born Sept 24, 1969, he was raised in the Tampa, Fla., area, where he was a 1989 graduate of Tampa Vo Tech.

After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he began his 13-year career. During his service, he received many awards, ribbons, and medals, including: five Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals, one Kuwait Liberation Medal, one NATO Liberation Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, and three Good Conduct Medals.

For his most recent combat, Smith has also posthumously received the Bronze Star with ?V? for valor and the Purple Heart. His commanding officer nominated him for the nation?s highest award for bravery.

For those who remember Audie Murphy of World War Two fame -- who also served with the vaunted 3rd Infantry -- the scene of Smith on his gun was very reminiscent of Murphy?s single-handed fire fight against advancing German soldiers, using a machine gun mounted on top of a flaming tank. He was also awarded the MOH and wore the same distinctive flash marks of the famous fighting 3rd Infantry Division on his helmet and uniform.


Survivors of the heroic soldier include his wife of 11 years, Birgit Smith of Hinesville, Georgia; a son, David Anthony Smith of Hinesville; and a daughter, Jessica Martha Smith of Hinesville.
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