FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of the Heroes: SFC Paul Smith ~ 12 May 2008

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[StarCMC]

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

~ Hall of Heroes ~

SFC Paul Smith
All info and photos from this website.

           

Paul Ray Smith was born on September 24, 1969, in El Paso, Texas. At the age of nine, his family moved to South Tampa, Florida, where he attended public schools. He enjoyed sports, liked cats, skateboarding, riding bicycles, and playing pranks with friends and his younger sister Lisa. He particularly enjoyed football, which instilled the importance of being part of a team and motivated his natural leadership abilities.

Sgt. 1st Class Smith joined the 11th Engineer Battalion in 1999 and immediately became an integral part of Bravo Company. When he deployed with his platoon to Kosovo in May 2001, as part of the KFOR 3A rotation, Smith was responsible for daily presence patrols in the highly populated town of Gnjilane. In the spring of 2002, he was promoted to sergeant first class and completed the Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course in August 2002.

In January 2003, Sgt. 1st Class Smith returned from leave to prepare his men for rapid deployment to Kuwait as part of the 3rd Infantry's Divisions buildup for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Smith took a strict approach to training his men, ensuring that his platoon was proficient in handling weapons and prepared for urban combat.

Bravo Company crossed the border on March 19th and traveled more than 300 kilometers in the first 48 hours of the war as part of the lead company in support of Task Force 2-7 Infantry. Passing through the Karbala Gap, Smith and his men pushed through the night of of April 3, 2003, towards Baghdad Airport where Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion of Task Force 2-7 were involved in a firefight with Iraqi forces. Sgt. 1st Class Smith's heroic actions and tragic death are described in more detail in the battlescape section of this website and in his Medal of Honor Citation.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to

 

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith
United States Army

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army. 

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[ConorMacNessa]

Greetings to all Canteen Denizens, Our Serving Military, Our Veterans, Their Families, FRiends and Our Allies!

Missing Man Setting

[Kathy in Alaska]

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are, God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

BLESS THIS HOUSE

 Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day; 
Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee. 

(Click on graphics for music)

[ConorMacNessa]

Great thread, Star - and another great American hero! May he rest in eternal peace!.

[ConorMacNessa]

Aloha, Biglook - how goes it?

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Thank you for the missing man setting, Sir Conor!
*curtsey*
Good evening to you!

[HopeandGlory]

Good morning Troops, Veterans and Canteeners.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.

Prayers going up.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Lady Ms.B. *BOW*

How are you doing tonite?

[Kathy in Alaska]

United States Marine Corps Band~National Anthem

[StarCMC]

Good to have ya home!!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

I am well, thank you..
A little tired from the long trip back home yesterday.

[StarCMC]

Awww! My hug! Thanks!!!

[StarCMC]

Hey Hope!! Thank you for the pledge!!

[roaddog727]

Nice to be home, thanks.

[ConorMacNessa]

How did your sojourn go?

[BIGLOOK]

Aloha Doc!

Hectic this morning since my son forgot to shop for Mother's Day.....until the last moment. I called him last Monday to remind him. Called again Friday to re remind him and called once more yesterday to check on his progress. But on the bright side of all this procrastination and indecision, Mission Accomplished this morning at 2230Z.

[Randy Larsen]

Hi Ms.B!

Just had a nice LONG visit with yorkie. Cooked up some steaks, yorkie made my favorite macaroni salad, baked beans, and some artisan rolls!

I love Arizona!

[gpapa]

This Day in U.S. Military History May 12

1864 - Close-range firing and hand-to-hand combat at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, result in one of the most brutal battles of the Civil War.

After the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6), Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee raced respective Union and Confederate forces southward. Grant aimed his army a dozen miles southeast of the Wilderness, toward the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House. Sensing Grant's plan, Lee sent part of his army on a furious night march to secure the road junction before the Union soldiers got there. The Confederates soon constructed a five-mile long system of entrenchments in the shape of an inverted U. On May 10, Grant began to attack Lee's position at Spotsylvania.

After achieving a temporary breakthrough at the Rebel center, Grant was convinced that a weakness existed there, as the bend of the Confederate line dispersed their fire. At dawn on May 12, Union General Winfield Scott Hancock's troops emerged from the fog and overran the Rebel trenches, taking nearly 3,000 prisoners and more than a dozen cannons. While the Yankees erupted in celebration, the Confederates counterattacked and began to drive the Federals back. The battle raged for over 20 hours along the center of the Confederate line—the top of the inverted U—which became known as the "Bloody Angle." Lee's men eventually constructed a second line of defense behind the original Rebel trenches, and fighting ceased just before dawn on May 13.

Around the Bloody Angle, the dead lay five deep, and bodies had to be moved from the trenches to make room for the living. The action around Spotsylvania shocked even the grizzled veterans of the two great armies. Said one officer, "I never expect to be fully believed when I tell what I saw of the horrors of Spotsylvania." And yet the battle was not done; the armies slugged it out for another week. In spite of his losses, Grant persisted, writing to General Henry Halleck in Washington, "I will fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."

[The Mayor]

May 12, 2008

A Child’s Wonder

ODB RADIO: Listen Now |  Download
READ: Psalm 78:1-8

That they may arise and declare [God’s law] to their children, that they may set their hope in God. —Psalm 78:6-7

In 19th-century Scotland, a young mother observed her 3-year-old son’s inquisitive nature. It seemed he was curious about everything that moved or made a noise. James Clerk Maxwell would carry his boyhood wonder with him into a remarkable career in science. He went on to do groundbreaking work in electricity and magnetism. Years later, Albert Einstein would say of Maxwell’s work that it was “the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton.”

From early childhood, religion touched all aspects of Maxwell’s life. As a committed Christian, he prayed: “Teach us to study the works of Thy hands . . . and strengthen our reason for Thy service.” The boyhood cultivation of Maxwell’s spiritual life and curiosity resulted in a lifetime of using science in service to the Creator.

The community of faith has always had the responsibility to nurture the talent of the younger generation and to orient their lives to the Lord, “that they may arise and declare [God’s law] to their children, that they may set their hope in God” (Ps. 78:6-7).

Finding ways to encourage children’s love for learning while establishing them in the faith is an important investment in the future.

Our children are a gift from God
On loan from heaven above,
To train and nourish in the Lord,
And show to them His love. —Sper

We shape tomorrow’s world by what we teach our children today.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 10–12; Proverbs 15:1-11

[ConorMacNessa]

For once, I was on time with Mothers day for the wife. I bought her a Scooba on Amazon and it arrived Wednesday. Made linguine with clam sauce tonite for Mothers' Day dinner. She thinks I'm a hero. :)

[SandRat]

HONDURAN ASSISTANCE -- U.S. Army Spc. Teri McMurray, a medic assigned to the 4005th Army Hospital, plays soccer with local children at a school renovation site in La Mesas, Honduras, May 2, 2008. McMurray and her unit are taking part in Beyond the Horizons, a joint training exercise in which U.S. and Honduran soldiers conduct humanitarian and civil assistance missions while developing their engineering, construction and medical skills.U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Sean A. Foley