Paul Ray Smith Award
Paul Ray Smith was born in Texas in 1969. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1989 and was deployed with Bravo Company of the 3rd Infantry Division to Kosovo in 2001, rising to the rank of sergeant first class the spring of 2002. In January of 2003, he was deployed to Kuwait in preparation for what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom. On April 4, 2003, two weeks after the invasion, Smith’s unit found itself engaged in heavy combat against superior numbers of enemy forces near Baghdad International Airport. In the heat of the battle, Smith ran under heavy fire to a nearby mounted machine gun. While maintaining this exposed position, he killed nearly 50 enemy fighters before he was mortally wounded. His selfless actions saved the lives of more than 100 soldiers and repelled the enemy attack. For his valor, he posthumously was awarded the Medal of Honor—the first American service member to receive the military’s highest honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Past Award Recipients
Operation Enduring Freedom
2009 – Captain Stephen Boada
2008 – Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, USAF
2007 – Major Jason Amerine
2006 – Staff Sergeant Anthony Viggiani
Operation Iraqi Freedom
2009 – Staff Sergeant David Bellavia
2008 – Captain W. Bryan Jackson, USA
2007 – Sergeant Jeremiah Workman
2006 – Sergeant Timothy Connors
Photos of Recipients
