Despite the years of civil war and insurgency that followed, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a well-planned and well-timed operation, so successful in its initial phases that American and Coalition forces had captured Baghdad within just three weeks. Major combat operations famously ended on May 1, 2003, in less than two months. But despite the speed and skill of the Americans, it was not without considerable effort – or losses.
SFC Paul Ray Smith: A Soldier’s Journey
One of those losses was SFC Paul Ray Smith, a veteran of both the first Gulf War and the Kosovo War. In April 2003, Smith was leading the men of B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, to capture the international airport in Baghdad. While blocking the highway between the city and the airport, he found himself in a crossfire between counterattacking Iraqi forces. Unable to withdraw, he fought against overwhelming odds, giving his life to prevent an aid station from being overrun.
Paul Ray Smith was born on September 24, 1969, in El Paso, Texas, but his family moved to Tampa, Florida, when he was still young. He was outgoing, athletic, and enjoyed being part of a team, which is probably one of the reasons he joined the Army after graduating from high school. Before long, he was stationed in Germany, got married, and had children. He served his country as a combat engineer in Kuwait during the Gulf War and again in Bosnia as part of the NATO peacekeeping forces there. During the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, he was a senior non-commissioned officer, still leading combat engineers.
His unit crossed into Iraq on March 19, 2003, moving more than 186 miles into enemy territory in just 48 hours to support Task Force 2-7 Infantry. By April 3, Bravo company was in Baghdad as part of the 3rd Infantry Division’s push to capture Baghdad International Airport. Task Force 2-7 was assigned to block the roads to the airport against a brigade-sized counterattack. After three days of continuous fighting, morale was high, but so was fatigue. Smith and his men were positioned along the main route for the enemy’s incoming attack, a four-lane highway with a median separating the two directions. The area held 100 soldiers, including mortars, scouts, and an aid station.
SFC Paul Ray Smith: The Battle for Baghdad
With his platoon leader out on patrol, Smith was assigned to create an enemy POW holding area from one of the walled compounds that dotted the highway. The compound’s watchtower would provide oversight for the guards manning the POW area.
Using an M9 armored combat earthmover (a protected bulldozer), he knocked a hole in the walls of one of the compounds, gaining access to a courtyard with a metal gate at the north end of the wall. As engineers cleared away debris, they spotted enemy troops with small arms, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades forming to attack, lead elements of a coming assault by a larger force. Smith noticed as many as 50 or more. Smith had only 16 soldiers to defend the roadblock and aid station. He needed more firepower.
He immediately called for a Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle to support the defense of the roadblock, and he instructed his men to grab anti-tank weapons and form a skirmish line. By the time he organized the American defenders, the Iraqi force had grown to 100 strong. Enemy forces also occupied the surrounding guard towers. Three M113A3 APCs joined the American defense, with .50-caliber machine guns focused on those towers. As the shooting started, Smith moved forward with two soldiers to join the guards at the north gate.
As he threw a grenade at the enemy, he directed fire at the incoming fire at incoming Iraqis, who were now fully engaged with bullets, rockets, and 60mm mortars. As Iraqis began to head toward the towers along the north wall, Smith directed an APC to provide more fire support.
After the Bradley took direct hits from an RPG and was running low on ammunition, the lead APC took a direct hit from an Iraqi mortar, wounding the three crewmen inside. As the Bradley withdrew to reload, he ordered one of his soldiers to back it into the courtyard and manned the APC’s .50-cal. amid a withering crossfire from the front and from the towers. He told the other soldier with him to “feed me ammunition whenever you hear the gun get quiet.”
Unprotected in the mounted machine gun, Smith went through three boxes of ammo before he was mortally wounded. He was found in the machine gun turret with 13 holes in his protective vest, shattering the ceramic plates. By leading the defense and taking up the largest gun between the enemy and the aid station, Smith ensured the failure of the Iraqi assault while saving the lives of 100 wounded soldiers and inflicting as many as 50 enemy casualties.
SFC Paul Ray Smith: A Legacy of Valor
Before deploying to Iraq, Smith wrote 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.”
On April 4, 2005, two years to the day after he was killed in action, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to the family of Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith at a White House ceremony. Smith was the first recipient to also receive the newly-authorized Medal of Honor flag. Although he has a memorial plaque at Arlington National Cemetery, his cremated remains were spread across the Gulf of Mexico, where he loved to fish.
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