Staff Sergeant Joseph Smith

Joseph was only 37 when in 1968 he and his unit got pinned down by heavy gunfire in a Vietnamese town that they where there to liberate.

Reinforcements were only a few minutes away when the enemy made a final push.

They fought hard and managed to defeat them however their unit had suffered some casualties.

My father had been evacuating a fellow soldier who had been hit when a sniper opened fire. He had been shot twice but still managed to save the life of the private. He died a hero, and his sacrifice will always be remembered.

My name is Michael, and I am the eldest of Joseph’s 4 children.

Dad was an amazing man and I am beyond grateful for the 16 years that I had with him. He was a devoted husband, loving father, and a courageous soldier.

He was born in 1931 and grew up in the little town of Cherry Creek with his father, mother and two sisters. His father was often deployed but Joseph always knew that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a soldier.

Then in 1942, when Joseph was only 11 years old, his whole world got flipped upside down when Grandpa Peter was killed in action during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Grandma Abigail saw a change in her son. He became more determined to become a soldier, and when he turned 18 he signed up. He left the small family farm that he grew up on for an ambition that he had long been striving for.

He gave it everything he had and it showed.

Three years after he joined he met my mother, Bethany and 6 months later they married.

They had 4 kids together: Michael, Abby, Jordan, and Jacob.

My favorite memory with him is when I was 11, and we went on vacation to Vermont. We where hiking a large mountain and I kept wanting to stop and give up, but dad kept encouraging me to keep going because the end would be well worth it.

It was, when I finally reached the top I was met with the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen. As I was looking over the view my dad came to stand behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. He said, “I want you to remember this, when you thought you couldn’t take another step, you took one anyway and showed yourself that there is more in you than you realize. I’m proud of you son.”

I will never forget that moment.

The following is a letter that arrived a week after my family and I received word of my father’s passing from Sergeant David Anderson who had served with my father for two years.

 

 

Michael,

Your father was a brave man and I was honored to have served with him for the time that I did. He was a good soldier and even better man.

Your father never shied away from a challenge and never backed down from a fight. He told me the first time I met him that he served in honor of all those who went before him and served. He especially wanted to ensure that the sacrifice of the ones who died wasn’t in vain. He wanted to pick up where they left off. He lived that out to the fullest extent.

Moving on without him is going to be hard, but I want to remind you that your father was the very definition of a warrior. You have his legacy in you, imprinted in your DNA. Never forget that.

I will leave you with these words that your father once told me.

Very Respectfully,

Sergeant Anderson

 

“Put your faith and family first and everything else will find its place.

Never back down without a fight. Never let go of who you love and what you love. Never fear tomorrow and what you don’t know.

Live every moment to it fullest potential so you can look back and have no regrets.”

 

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