Posted on 04/18/2003 6:19:54 AM PDT by chance33_98
A Marine Corps Legend Is Buried
1st Sgt. Edward Smith Was Killed In Iraq
POSTED: 6:16 p.m. PDT April 17, 2003 UPDATED: 6:27 p.m. PDT April 17, 2003
CAMP PENDLETON -- Marines, Anaheim police officers and the family of 1st Sgt. Edward C. Smith gathered under a gray sky Thursday to remember the man whose physical stamina and mental toughness inspired thousands of troops who trained under his command.
About 300 people packed the Marine Memorial Chapel at Camp Pendleton, where police officers and Marines eulogized the 38-year-old father of three who had planned to retire from the military in January.
Smith, a Gulf War veteran and reserve officer with the Anaheim Police Department, was the highest-ranking enlisted Marine to die in the war in Iraq.
Many of those who spoke Thursday said they are struggling to understand how Smith, who could have been far from enemy fire because of his rank, would be killed.
"I don't know the accounts of how he was killed, but I guarantee you it was saving his Marines, exposing himself to fire to set an example," said Sgt. Major Dan Hakala, who was friends with Smith for 17 years.
Hakala and others praised Smith as a natural leader whose endurance and passion inspired them to keep moving even when they were at the point of collapse.
Smith, a Chicago native, had decided to retire in January but the military delayed all retirements for a year and he was shipped overseas with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton. He wasn't eager to go to war in Iraq, but, according to his wife, Sandy, he wanted to test himself after 20 years in the Marine Corps without seeing combat.
"He said he was sorry he was leaving," his wife told reporters earlier this month.
On Thursday, she wiped away tears as she sat in the front row of the Marine base chapel with the couple's three children -- Nathan, 12, Ryan, 9, and Shelby, 8 -- and Smith's parents, Ronald and Barbara.
Marines in uniform carried Smith's flag-draped casket to the front of the chapel, where a wreath of red roses decorated the altar. A large photo of Smith, wearing his police uniform and a serious expression, was displayed at the side. At the close of the service, a Marine bugler played "Taps."
Earlier Thursday, about 1,000 people attended a memorial service in Anaheim.
Smith's remains were to be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
Indeed.May he rest in peace, and may his family find comfort.
If true, it may be sufficient for a CMH nomination.
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