Patriots memorialize leader, friend

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

01.03.2006

Courtesy Story

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Spc. Dan Balda 4th BCT PAO

BAGHDAD -- 1st Lt. Kevin Smith, or KJ to his friends, was remembered as one who did not shrink from the fight.

The Battery A, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle Dec. 8.

Lt. Col. Daniel Pinnell, 1-76 battalion commander, began his remarks using an oft-used passage from Shakespeare's Henry V, slightly modified to fit the circumstances.

"These wounds I earned with my fellow patriots in the land between the rivers. Where civilization was born and nearly perished. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers for he that sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother."

Smith was somewhat new to Iraq, having answered his commander's call to help restore the strength of a team damaged by tragedy. Pinnell lauded Smith's infectious smile and can-do attitude along with his exceptional care of his fellow Soldiers and camaraderie as the prime reasons for the rebirth of confidence in that unit.

According to Pinnell, one of Smith's favorite sayings was, "Quitters do not win, and winners never quit."

Capt. Brian Adams, Smith's battery commander, said he remembered the night Smith arrived in Baghdad. He arrived in the middle of the night and was told to get some sleep and when he was ready, Adams would brief him on everything he needed to know regarding his mission. Smith told Adams that he didn't need the sleep and stood ready to execute the mission.

"This was typical of Kevin," Adams said. "He needed minimal guidance to execute the more difficult missions. He never complained and always gave the credit for a job well done to his Soldiers."

"His style of leadership was fun, caring and stern. He was a superb junior leader and a great friend," said Adams.

1st Lt. Colby Broadwater, one of Smith's fellow platoon leaders, took his turn at the lectern not to remind the assembled mourners of KJ the Soldier, but KJ the friend.

As officers sometimes spend time with their own, he said Smith went against the grain and befriended everybody he came across, regardless of rank or unit affiliation.

"He would help Soldiers that weren't even in his platoon deal with financial difficulties," Broadwater said. "He"d spend hours talking to people not in his battery about their lives and their plans for their lives." He reminded the Soldiers present to remember the sage-like advice they received.

One Soldier was in a unique position, as Smith's driver, to receive a large amount of that advice.

Pfc. Adam Mattis spoke of a new lieutenant who swiftly won his Soldiers over with his quick wit, discipline and care for his new charges.

"He gave us the goal of having the highest PT average of any platoon in the battalion," Mattis said, "not because he wanted to brag, but because he wanted to teach us that with a little teamwork we could accomplish anything."

Mattis remembered his lieutenant as kind and full of life, and as one who went the extra mile to make sure all the guys in his truck got home safely. His final act assured that his guys would be able to tell their grandchildren about 1st Lt. Kevin Smith.

"What happened Thursday morning was tragic," Mattis said. "But if it had to happen, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He always told us that he would do anything for us. It is my belief that on that morning he saved the lives of Capt. Putnam, Lt. Peterson, Spc. Krebs and myself. And for that, I am eternally grateful. I can say that for those of us whose lives he touched, his memory will last an eternity."

• Date Taken: 01.03.2006
• Date Posted: 01.03.2006 13:23
• Story ID: 4263
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ