Paul Ray Smith

Paul Ray Smith was a United States Army Sergeant First Class who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. While serving with B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad, Iraq, his team was attacked by a group of Iraqi fighters and after a short firefight he was killed by Iraqi fire. For his actions during this battle he was recommended and approved for the Medal of Honor. Two years later, the medal, along with the newly approved Medal of Honor flag, were presented to his family specifically to his elevenyearold son David, at a White House ceremony by the President of the United States George W. Bush.

Smith was born September 24, 1969 in El Paso, Texas to Ivan Smith and Janice Pvirre but when he was nine the family moved to Tampa, Florida. As a child he attended public schools and enjoyed sports especially American football. He also liked riding skateboards and bicycles, playing pranks with his friends and younger sister Lisa. In high school he became interested in carpentry, even finding a parttime job as a carpenters assistant. He also liked to work on cars, especially old ones, and enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked, even restoring a dune buggy with a friend. In 1989 he graduated from Tampa Bay Vocational Tech High School and shortly thereafter joined the United States Army in October 1989.

Source: Wikipedia