THE
PRESIDENT: Good afternoon and welcome to the White House. Today is a
special occasion: We are here to pay tribute to a soldier whose service
illustrates the highest ideals of leadership and love of our country.
Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, of Florida, gave his life for
these ideals in a deadly battle outside Baghdad. It is my great
privilege to recognize his extraordinary sacrifice by awarding Sergeant
Smith the Medal of Honor.
I appreciate Secretary Don Rumsfeld joining us today; Secretary Jim
Nicholson, of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Senator Carl Levin,
Senator Bill Nelson, Senator Mel Martinez, Senator Johnny Isakson and
Congressman Ike Skelton. Thank you all for joining us.
I appreciate Secretary Francis Harvey, Secretary of the Army; General
Dick Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Pete Pace,
Vice Chairman; General Pete Schoomaker, Chief of the Army.
I want to thank the Medal of Honor recipients who have joined us
today: John Baker, Barney Barnum, Bernie Fisher, Al Rascon and Brian
Thacker. Honored you all are here.
I appreciate the family members who have joined us today. Thank you
all for coming: Birgit Smith, his wife; Jessica Smith; David Smith;
Janice Pvirre, the mom; Donald Pvirre, stepfather, and all the other
family members who have joined us. Welcome.
I appreciate Chaplain David Hicks, for his invocation. I want to
thank Lieutenant Colonel Tom Smith, for joining us, who was Paul Smith's
commander. I particularly want to welcome soldiers from the 3rd Infantry
Division, Paul's unit in Iraq.
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery a President can
bestow. It is given for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in
the face of enemy attack. Since World War II, more than half of those
have been awarded this medal gave their lives in the action that earned
it. Sergeant Paul Smith belongs to this select group.
The story of Paul Smith is a story of a boy transformed into a man
and a leader. His friends and family will tell you that he joined the
Army in 1989, after finishing high school. When he joined the Army, he
was a typical young American. He liked sports, he liked fast cars, and
he liked to stay out late with his friends -- pursuits that occasionally
earned him what the Army calls "extra duty." (Laughter.) Scrubbing
floors.
Two things would change Paul's life and lead him to the selfless
heroism we honor today. The first would come when he was stationed in
Germany and fell for a woman named Birgit Bacher. It turns out that Paul
had a romantic streak in him: On the first night he met her, Paul
appeared outside Birgit's window singing "You've Lost That Loving
Feeling." (Laughter.) In 1992, the two married, and soon, a young
soldier became a devoted family man who played T-ball with his son and
taught his daughter how to change the oil in his Jeep Cherokee.
Second great change in Paul's life would come when he shipped off to
Saudi Arabia to fight in the first Gulf War. There the young combat
engineer learned that his training had a purpose and could save lives on
the battlefield. Paul returned from that war determined that other
soldiers would benefit from the lessons he had learned.
Paul earned his sergeant's stripes and became known as a stickler for
detail. Sergeant Smith's seriousness wasn't always appreciated by the
greener troops under his direction. Those greener troops oftentimes
found themselves to do tasks over and over again, until they got it
right. Specialist Michael Seaman, who is with us today, says, "He was
hard in training because he knew we had to be hard in battle."
Specialist Seaman will also tell you that he and others are alive today
because of Sergeant Smith's discipline.
That discipline would be put to the task in a small courtyard less
than a mile from the Baghdad airport. Sergeant Smith was leading about
three dozen men who were using a courtyard next to a watchtower to build
a temporary jail for captured enemy prisoners. As they were cleaning the
courtyard, they were surprised by about a hundred of Saddam Hussein's
Republican Guard.
With complete disregard for his own life and under constant enemy
fire, Sergeant Smith rallied his men and led a counterattack. Seeing
that his wounded men were in danger of being overrun, and that enemy
fire from the watchtower had pinned them down, Sergeant Smith manned a
50-caliber machine gun atop a damaged armor vehicle. From a completely
exposed position, he killed as many as 50 enemy soldiers as he protected
his men.
Sergeant Smith's leadership saved the men in the courtyard, and he
prevented an enemy attack on the aid station just up the road. Sergeant
Smith continued to fire and took a -- until he took a fatal round to the
head. His actions in that courtyard saved the lives of more than 100
American soldiers.
Scripture tells us, as the General said, that a man has no greater
love than to lay down his life for his friends. And that is exactly the
responsibility Paul Smith believed the Sergeant stripes on his sleeve
had given him. In a letter he wrote to his parents but never mailed, he
said that he was prepared to "give all that I am to ensure that all my
boys make it home."
On this day two years ago, Sergeant Smith gave his all for his men.
Five days later, Baghdad fell, and the Iraqi people were liberated. And
today, we bestow upon Sergeant Smith the first Medal of Honor in the war
on terror. He's also the first to be awarded this new Medal of Honor
flag, authorized by the United States Congress. We count ourselves
blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith, who put their lives on the
line to advance the cause of freedom and protect the American people.
Like every one of the men and women in uniform who have served in
Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sergeant Paul Smith was a volunteer. We thank
his family for the father, husband and son and brother who can never be
replaced. We recall with appreciation the fellow soldiers whose lives he
saved, and the many more he inspired. And we express our gratitude for a
new generation of Americans, every bit as selfless and dedicated to
liberty as any that has gone on before -- a dedication exemplified by
the sacrifice and valor of Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith.
And now if his family would join me, please. Lieutenant Commander,
please read the citation.
(The citation is read and the medal is presented.) (Applause.)