In the scope of a warrior

Photo By Sgt. Russell Midori | Cpl. Christopher Smith sights in with his Howa 308 rifle on a plantation in the Ace...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. Russell Midori | Cpl. Christopher Smith sights in with his Howa 308 rifle on a plantation in the Ace Basin Oct. 13 during the 5th Annual Lowcountry Wheelchair and Wounded Warrior Hunt. Smith lost most of his hearing when his convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device in Fallujah, Iraq.  see less | View Image Page

UNITED STATES

10.27.2009

Story by Lance Cpl. Russell Midori 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

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Cpl. Christopher Smith had a 6-point buck centered in the scope of his Howa 308 rifle as he sat in a tree stand beside me at a plantation in the Ace Basin of the Lowcountry.

Then, ever so slightly, I moved. My Gortex made an awful rustling sound that broke the hush of the wilderness. The buck took off, and I knew I was guilty of the most heinous sin a hunter can commit. I looked at Smith expecting the worst.

"Don't worry about that, man. I'll get another deer out here," he told me. Though Smith, from China Grove, N.C., is a serious hunter, he is a man who, through his experiences, has learned to stride past such stumbling blocks.

He lost most of his hearing in 2006, while serving as the gunner on the lead vehicle in a convoy in Fallujah. His truck was directly hit by an IED. He has since endured a swarm of medical problems, but insists he is a "lucky guy."

"Both of my ear drums blew out, and I have permanent nerve damage," said Smith, a member of the Wounded Warrior Battalion East at Camp LeJeune, N.C. "It keeps getting worse. In the last two years I went through two different sets of hearing aids."

The incident also left him with a deep shrapnel scar on his forehead and a traumatic brain injury, affecting his memory.

"Sometimes I can't remember anything about what I did the night before. I have to write things down constantly," he said. "But really, no matter what I'm dealing with from it, I'm just thankful to be alive."

Smith attended the 5th Annual Lowcountry Wheelchair and Wounded Warrior Hunt and said that while organizations often reach out to wounded veterans, few events are as highly anticipated in his battalion than this particular hunt.

"Every Marine is trained to use weapons, so hunting easily falls in line with our mentality," he said. "Personally, its my favorite thing to do — hunting, trapping and fishing. For a lot of the guys I came with, it's their first time hunting, and with all they offer us here it's a great way to get introduced to the outdoors."

Though he doesn't know exactly when, Smith will soon receive a medical discharge from the Marine Corps. He said he plans to work as a trapper for the Department of Agriculture.

"I started trapping last year," he said. "I went from not knowing anything at all to taking advanced classes in trapping. I think it's more fun than any other type of hunting, and I know if I had that job, it wouldn't be like work. I'd be doing what I love."

Of course, overcoming his disabilities to pursue such a career won't come easy, because hunting now is more of a challenge that it was before, he said.

"I can't hear the animals walking toward or away from the stand," he explained. "I also don't know how loud I'm grunting or using my calls. I won't let that hold me back though. I just have to crank up these hearing aids and figure out how to blow on a reed the same way every time."

His determination paid off during the hunt, after I had scared off that buck. He left the tree stand and tracked a group of deer, using what I took to be a jumble of hoof prints and broken twigs to guide him for more than a mile in the wilderness.

Sure enough, when a 120-pound doe poked its head from the tree line about 300 yards out, Smith spotted it, took a knee and shot it through the eye. He made good on his promise to "get another deer," and I just felt relieved for not scaring off another animal.

With plenty of deer meat in his refrigerator already, he gave the kill to some of the others in his battalion who were less successful on the hunt. He said he is just happy to have a story to bring back to his wife, a hunter herself.

"Chris was the first person that ever took me hunting," said his wife, Ashley Smith. "He bought me my first bow, and I shot my first turkey with him. I was so excited I started jumping up and down in the tree stand."

Smith said his passion for hunting is exceeded only by his love for his wife and his two children, Kayleigh and Eli. With the support of his family, he has come a long way in moving passed the horrors he experienced in combat.

"Things are a lot better than when he first came back," said Ashley. "His nightmares and flashbacks aren't as bad as what they used to be. By now we know how to adapt to anything."

Smith's past has taught him to live by a simple piece of wisdom, he said.

"Don't take anything for granted, because you never know how it can be taken from you."

All he has lost has made him more thankful for what he has, he said, and he'll continue conquering adversity one hunt at a time.