Paul Ray Smith Paul Ray Smith ( September 24 , 1969 – April 4 , 2003 ) was a United States Army Sergeant First Class who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom . While serving with B Company , 11th Engineer Battalion , 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad , Iraq his team was attacked by a group of Iraqi fighters and after a short firefight he was killed by Iraqi fire . For his actions during this battle he was recommended and approved for the Medal of Honor . Two years later , the medal , along with the newly approved Medal of Honor flag , were presented to his family ; specifically to his eleven - year - old son David , at a White House ceremony by the President of the United States George W . Bush . Early life and family . Smith was born September 24 , 1969 in El Paso , Texas to Ivan Smith and Janice Pvirre but when he was nine the family moved to Tampa , Florida . As a child he attended public schools and enjoyed sports especially American football . He also liked riding skateboards and bicycles , playing pranks with his friends and younger sister Lisa . In high school he became interested in carpentry , even finding a part - time job as a carpenters assistant . He also liked to work on cars , especially old ones and enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked , even restoring a dune buggy with a friend . In 1989 he graduated from Tampa Bay Vocational Tech High School and shortly after joined the United States Army in October 1989 . Military career . He was sent to Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri before being sent to Germany for his first duty station , where he joined the 9th Engineer Battalion . Later , he served during the Persian Gulf War . He deployed with B company in October 1996 as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team , the covering force for Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Joint Guardian ; the battalion returned to Schweinfurt in April 1997 . In 1999 he was posted to the 11th Engineer Battalion and deployed with them to Kosovo in May 2001 , where he was responsible for daily presence patrols in the town of Gnjilane . In the spring of 2002 , he received a promotion to Sergeant First Class and completed the Advanced Non - Commissioned Officer Course in August 2002 . As part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq , he was assigned to B Company , 11th Engineer Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division . His company was supporting the 2nd Battalion , 7th Infantry Regiment as it made its way through the Karbala Gap , across the Euphrates River and to Saddam International Airport ( BIAP ) in Baghdad . On April 4 , 2003 , a 100 - man force was assigned to block the highway between Baghdad and the airport , about one mile east of the airport . After a brief battle , several of the Iraqis were captured . Smith spotted a walled enclosure nearby with a tower overlooking it . He and his squad set about building an impromptu enemy prisoner of war ( EPW ) holding area in the enclosure . Smith and 16 other men used an Armored Combat Earthmover ( similar to a bulldozer ) to knock a hole in the south wall of the courtyard . On the north side , there was a metal gate that Smith assigned several men to guard . These men noticed 50 – 100 Iraqi fighters who had taken positions in trenches just past the gate . He summoned a Bradley fighting vehicle to attack their position . Three nearby M113 Armored Personnel Carriers came to support the attack . An M113 was hit , possibly by a mortar , and all three crewmen were wounded . The Bradley , damaged and running low on ammunition , withdrew to reload during a lull in the battle . Smith organized the evacuation of the injured M113 crewmen . However , behind the courtyard was a military aid station crowded with 100 combat casualties . To protect it from being overrun , Smith chose to fight on rather than withdraw with the wounded . Meanwhile , some Iraqi fighters had taken position in the tower overlooking the courtyard , just over the west wall . The Iraqis now had the Americans in the courtyard under an intense crossfire . Smith took command of the M113 and ordered a driver to position it so that he could attack both the tower and the trenches . He manned the M113 ' s machine gun , going through three boxes of ammunition . A separate team led by First Sergeant Tim Campbell attacked the tower from the rear , killing the Iraqis . As the battle ended , Smith ' s machine gun fell silent . His comrades found him slumped in the turret hatch . His armored vest was peppered with 13 bullet holes , the vest ' s ceramic armor inserts , both front and back , cracked in numerous places . ( The M113 he was manning was not fitted with protective ACAV gun shields which had been standard since the Viet Nam war . Later in the Iraq conflict , modern gunshields were fielded . ) But the fatal shot , one of the last from the tower , had entered his neck and passed through his brain , killing SFC Smith . Before deploying to Iraq Smith had written to his parents , " There are two ways to come home , stepping off the plane and being carried off the plane . It doesn ' t matter how I come home , because I am prepared to give all that I am to ensure that all my boys make it home . " Smith was cremated and his ashes scattered in Gulf of Mexico , where he loved to fish . He has a memorial marker in Arlington National Cemetery Arlington , Virginia and his marker can be found in memorial Section D , lot 67 . At the time of his death he had served for thirteen years and for his actions during the battle , he posthumously received the Medal of Honor . On April 4 , 2005 , exactly two years after he was killed , his eleven - year - old son David received the Medal of Honor from President George W . Bush along with the Medal of Honor flag . SFC Smith is survived by his wife Birgit , son David , and stepdaughter Jessica . Honors and awards . Medal of Honor citation . 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 April 4 , 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 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 60 mm 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 .