Remembering Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith 🇺🇸 SFC Paul Ray Smith grew up in Tampa, FL, joining the United States Army at 18 with the heart of a leader. He spent 14 years doing exactly that, deploying to Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, and Kosovo before the invasion of Iraq. He was a combat engineer with the 3rd Infantry Division. A husband and a father. On April 4, 2003, near Baghdad International Airport, his unit was attacked by over 100 Iraqi soldiers. Smith organized a defense, climbed atop a damaged M113 armored personnel carrier and manned its .50 caliber machine gun. He was fully exposed to enemy fire, but held the line until his last breath. His heroism and sacrifice on that day saved the lives of over 100 of his fellow soldiers. He was just 33 years old and the first Medal of Honor recipient of the Global War on Terror. 🇺🇸