First Iraq Medal of Honor recipient receives memorial headstone at Arlington

April 7, 2005 US Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was honored at a ceremony on April 5 at Arlington National Cemetery, where a memorial headstone was unveiled by his widow Birgit, and their two children Jessica, 18, and David, 11.

The headstone is a special, gold-lettered memorial tombstone, one of only six such markers to be found in Arlington. The inscription states, "In Memory of Paul Ray Smith...His Spirit Lives Forever."

Smith was honored posthumously by President George W. Bush on April 4, 2005 with the highest citation for valor that can be bestowed by the US Armed Forces, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 4, 2003, the day of his death. During a ceremony in the White House, President Bush presented the award to Smith's family and described him as "a soldier whose service illustrates the highest ideals of leadership and love of our country."

Smith's death occurred while leading a defensive battle against over 100 of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. While attempting to build a holding area for enemy prisoners of war about a mile from Baghdad International Airport, Smith and the three dozen men he commanded in the 3rd Infantry Division were surprised and outnumbered.

During the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, President Bush said, "With complete disregard for his own life and under constant enemy fire, Sergeant Smith rallied his men and led a counterattack. Seeing that his wounded men were in danger of being overrun, and that enemy fire from the watchtower had pinned them down, Sergeant Smith manned a 50-caliber machine gun atop a damaged armor vehicle. From a completely exposed position, he killed as many as 50 enemy soldiers as he protected his men."

"Sergeant Smith's leadership saved the men in the courtyard, and he prevented an enemy attack on the aid station just up the road. Sergeant Smith continued to fire...until he took a fatal round to the head. His actions in that courtyard saved the lives of more than 100 American soldiers...We count ourselves blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith, who put their lives on the line to advance the cause of freedom and protect the American people."

The US Army has revealed many details about Smiths' actions that day. While his commander was on a reconnaissance mission, he led the defence of his platoon (and the mortar team, scouts and medical aid station based nearby) by throwing a grenade, firing rockets and firing his own weapon. After a Bradley Fighting Vehicle was forced to withdraw from multiple rocket-propelled-grenade strikes and a lack of ammunition, he ordered another soldier to reverse an armoured personnel carrier back into the scene of the fight, whose original crew had been incapacitated moments before by a mortar. Smith then engaged the attacking Iraqi troops using its roof-mounted un-armoured .50-calibre machine gun, knowing it was the heaviest weapon between the attackers and the troops behind him. Smith fired over 300 rounds before he was killed. The US Army states that his actions killed 20-50 Iraqi troops, and that his actions saved the many US troops stationed nearby.

In an unmailed letter home, Smith said that he was ready to give "all that I am to ensure that my boys make it home". His Medal of Honor citation was given, "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."

Smith was also the first ever to earn a Medal of Honor flag, a new award which will be given to all future Medal of Honor recipients since being authorized by Congress in a 2002 law. The flag is a simple design that consists of a blue field, fringed with gold, containing 13 white stars, similar to the Medal of Honor ribbon.