On the bleak day in 2003 when David Smith learned of his
father's death, he told his mother that Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith must
have lost his life to save other Soldiers. Months later, David was the one into
whose hands President Bush placed SFC Smith's Medal of
Honor.
As David had surmised, the first such tribute of
Operation Iraqi Freedom honored his father's
extraordinary act of heroism, one that spared the lives
of numerous wounded Soldiers.
Six years
after (2009) the loss of his hero father, David continues to honor his father's
memory by reaching out to console other children who
have lost their parents to war. Now a member of his high
school's JROTC unit, David is making plans to join the
Army and echo his fathers legacy of service to others.
