I first read about SFC Smith at a Harley dealer near me (Earl Small's), where his motorcycle was to be auctioned off for his family. I touched it, sat on it, and looked in the mirrors. I could almost see his face looking back. It was a touching moment and I was taken aback when I read the whole story and the accounts of his buddies that were with him, and stared at the almost life sized poster of him.
He truly deserves to be honored.
RIP, buddy!
One was Sgt. Rafael Peralta, 25, of San Diego,
a Mexican immigrant
who joined the Marines the day after he got his "green card." A platoon scout who didn't have to go on the dangerous Nov. 15 mission, Peralta volunteered to join a "stack" of five Marines hunting insurgents house-to-house in Fallujah.
Three enemy fighters waited behind a closed door. When Peralta opened it, he was hit in the head and chest by a close-up fusillade of AK-47 fire.
His Marine mates fought on, until one of the insurgents rolled a grenade toward Peralta, who lay bleeding on the floor. To save his nearby comrades, Peralta reached for the explosive and tucked it under his stomach, where it exploded. He was the only Marine to die.
He gave his life for country he wasn't even a citizen of!