February 03, 2005

Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A soldier credited with saving dozens of lives by beating back an Iraqi attack before he was killed will receive the first Medal of Honor awarded since 1993, according to the officer who nominated him.
Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, 33, of the Tampa Bay area, was killed in action when his outnumbered unit was attacked by Iraqi forces at the Baghdad airport on April 4, 2003.

Lt. Col. Thomas Smith on Tuesday notified the soldier’s wife, Birgit, that President Bush would present the nation’s highest award to her and their children, Jessica, 18, and David, 10, at a White House ceremony, possibly in March.

No official announcement had been made by the Pentagon as of Wednesday.

“This is a guy whose whole life experience seemed building toward putting him in the position where he could something like this,” said Thomas Smith, who is not related to the fallen soldier. “He was demanding on his soldiers all the time and was a stickler for all the things we try to enforce. It’s just an amazing story.”

Paul Smith, with Bravo Company of the 11th Engineer Battalion from Fort Stewart, Ga., was helping build a holding pen for a growing number of prisoners when he climbed aboard an armored personnel carrier and manned its .50-caliber machine gun to cover for fellow troops.

Smith fired more than 300 rounds and the ceramic breast plate in his flak jacket was shattered as he took return fire from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

He was the only American who died in the attack.

“People know what he’s done,” Smith’s wife said. “People know that to get a Medal of Honor you have to be a special person or do something really great.”

Since the Civil War, 3,439 men and one woman have received the Medal of Honor, awarded for bravery “above and beyond the call of duty.”

It was last presented to two soldiers killed in Somalia during action described in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”