Army dedicates Simulation Center for fallen Soldier

Army dedicates Simulation Center for fallen Soldier

December 9, 2003

Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith cuts the lock of a suspected ammunition storage facility in central Iraq.
SGT Craig Zentkovich

The Army’s former Simulation & Training Technology Center in Orlando, Fla., was renamed Nov. 7 in honor of Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, a Floridian who lost his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Smith was killed in battle April 4. His unit, the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, was assigned the task of establishing an enemy prisoner of war holding area and was aggressively counter-attacked by a large Republican Guard unit near the Baghdad International Airport. The unit was overtaken and pinned down within minutes.

Several vehicles were out of action and some Soldiers were down. Smith climbed aboard a damaged armored vehicle, and under intense fire managed to get a .50-caliber machine gun working and provided critical covering fire so the wounded could be evacuated. 1st Sgt. Timothy Campbell said that Smith’s actions set the conditions to get control and restore the initiative.

“The .50-cal was the key,” Campbell said, explaining that Smith’s actions changed the course of the fight. Smith provided cover while wounded Soldiers were evacuated. He lost his life after saving numerous others. Smith was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and he is currently a nominee for the Medal of Honor.

According to his citation, Smith’s actions killed 20 to 50 Iraqis, allowing the American wounded to be evacuated, saving an aid station and headquarters, as well as possibly 100 American lives.

In an interview before the facility dedication ceremony, Janice Pvirre, Smith’s mother, said her son always wanted to be a Soldier. She said he was always generous, gracious had high morals, and was always available to help people.

Those killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom

Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith

Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, 33, of Tampa, Fla.; assigned to 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed in action in Iraq.

Like any good military man, Paul Smith had a plan: become a professional soldier and have a family.

He completed both missions long before he was killed in action April 4 at age 33.

Smith, a 14-year Army veteran and father of two, enlisted shortly after graduating from Tampa Bay Technical High School in 1989. Within a year, he was in the Gulf, serving in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Later, he went to another of the world’s hot spots, Bosnia.

“He had his life mapped out since he was 18,” his stepfather, Donald Pvirre, told The Tampa Tribune. “That’s what he wanted to do.”

He did it well. Pvirre said Smith had “earned medals from all over.”

“He did not die in vain, and we know that,” Smith’s sister, Lisa DeVane of South Georgia, said in a statement released by the family.

“Paul died serving his country with pride, honor and integrity, and believing in the just cause of this war,” she said. “Our nation was fortunate to have him as a soldier. We as a family were blessed to have him as a son, brother, husband, father and uncle. He will be missed greatly.

“Paul made it clear that it was privilege for him to lead 25 of America’s finest soldiers into war, and he was prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure their safe return, and he did.”

Smith is survived by his wife, Brigit, and two children, Jessica and David.

— USA Today and The Associated Press

Killed: April 04, 2003

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