    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [April 4, 2005]
    [Pages 557-559]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting Posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor to
    Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith
    April 4, 2005

        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 3d 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
    who have been awarded this medal gave their lives in the action that
    earned

    [[Page 558]]

    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
    tee-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 armored 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's 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 2 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

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    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.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:07 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Paul Ray Smith's son, David A.
    Smith, and daughter, Jessica M. Smith; and Maj. Gen. David Hicks, USA,
    Army Chief of Chaplains. Following the President's remarks, Lt. Cmdr.
    Keith B. Davids, Navy Aide to the President, read the citation.