Ready to Fight Again
A welter of enthusiasm and optimism — in contrast to his worried parents, Lt. Greg Smith and former Police Det. Yvette Smith — in numerous calls to his family, he has sounded anxious to return to action.
Likely, however, he will shortly be transferred to a hospital in Germany. After what is expected to be a brief, days-long stay, Pfc. Smith then is scheduled to undergo the main segment of his recovery at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, which has been severely criticized for certain conditions in recent days.
His Itinerary
At a point, the wounded soldier will rejoin his family, and then go on to his military headquarters, Ft. Carson in Colorado.
Wearing a uniform is a family tradition, and there was a gigantic family sendoff before he was dispatched overseas last autumn.
Pfc. Smith sustained his injuries one week to the day before he was scheduled to leave Iraq and fly home for two weeks with his parents and 4 siblings.
Sniper Attack
Serving in Iraq with the 109th Combat Infantry Strike Unit since last October, Pfc. Smith was in the midst of a secretive 10-day mission near Ramadi when he was gunned down by an apparent sniper.
Priding himself on being first in and last out, he was the trailing soldier in the second of two 15-person squads patrolling a street where the Army had not gone before.
He thought he espied his attacker out of the side of his eye. Once struck, he said the bullets just kept coming, in a hail. Like bees, they buzzed the most vulnerable parts of his body. He heard them. He felt them. He saw them.
How Did He Survive?
Repeatedly, Pfc. Smith has expressed amazement he was not more badly injured by the blizzard in which he became engulfed.
A proud, enthusiastic, red-white-and-blue soldier in the spirit of Americanism he learned at home in his growing-up years, Pfc. Smith has spent most of the last 4 days assuring relatives this is just a temporary delay in his plans.
Under prodding from his skeptical mother, he finally admitted to being in more than very occasional pain.
A Son Who Stays in Touch
Typical of the family values with which he grew up, Pfc. Smith telephones home daily. He also is regularly on the telephone line with far-flung relatives and friends, spiritedly keeping all up to date on his condition.
Pfc. Smith, who vigorously aspires to be a police officer in the tradition of his parents, was shot once through one hand and twice more in the thigh area.
“Andrew’s father is his idol,” Mrs. Smith said. With that in mind, Pfc. Smith directed a buddy to preserve the damaged uniform in which he was wounded, in order to present it later to his father.
A Father’s Feelings
“Relieved and thankful,” is the way the soldier’s father, Lt. Smith, a 30-year Police Dept. veteran, described his feelings this morning.
From the beginning of their marriage, the family’s daily life has been sprinkled with regular dosages of prayer and nurtured by a strong commitment to their faith, a belief system relayed to readers of thefrontpageoneline.com last Veterans Day by Pfc. Smith’s paternal grandmother.
Prayer Was Pivotal
Lt. Smith credited the power of prayer with bringing Andrew through this largest but still-early family crisis.
As soon as Pfc. Smith announced to his parents that his unit was going on a vaguely discussed mission last month and that he might be incommunicado for a week or more, the faith family swung into action.
Even though separated by thousands of miles and oceans of emotions, Mrs. Smith said she knew Andrew was not being fully candid when he denied being in anything but random discomfort.
Who Knows Best?
Over the telephone, you almost could see her wink.
“A mother knows,” she said.
Indeed, she did.
“Andrew tried to hide the fact he was in pain,” Mrs. Smith said. “When I did get him to admit it, though, he said, ‘I am hurting, but I am a soldier.’
“After I hung up from that call, I cried. I can’t help it.”
He’s Glad He Was Target
By telephone, the Army lauded the oldest son in the Smith family for his bravery. After he was downed during the patrol mission on a street where the Army had not gone before, Pfc. Smith kept firing even after he was felled.
The soldier himself said he was glad he was the one who was shot, not someone else in his unit. He wanted to take the fire instead of his buddies, he told his mother. He felt better equipped to fight off whatever might happen to him.
Pfc. Smith’s parents are standing by this afternoon. They await word from the Army on whether they will be flown to Germany or to Washington for a strongly needed reunion with their son.
His Alma Mater Takes Notice
But even before any of that, the living, breathing status of Pfc. Smith was clarified today at his alma mater, North Torrance High School.
A popular undergraduate with a Class A personality, many of the present students remember him, even though he graduated almost 2 years ago. After the first reports of his injuries last week, excitedly relayed rumors became confused and expanded, claiming that he had been killed, which ignited an outburst of emotions on campus.
Banner Announcement
Alerted by a stream of assuring notifications from the Smith family, the North administrators organized a campus-wide announcement this morning. Amidst other activities, North students created a signed banner to be handed over to Pfc. Smith’s family, and to Andrew himself when he returns home.
