Edward Smith, Marine killed in Iraq, is honored at Camp Pendleton

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) Marines, Anaheim police officers and the family of 1st Sgt. Edward C. Smith gathered under a gray sky Thursday to remember the man whose physical stamina and mental toughness inspired thousands of troops who trained under his command.

About 300 people packed the Marine Memorial Chapel at Camp Pendleton, where police officers and Marines eulogized the 38-year-old father of three who had planned to retire from the military in January.

Smith, a Gulf War veteran and reserve officer with the Anaheim Police Department, had hoped to join the police force full-time upon his return from duty in Iraq. He had told his friends he planned to ride into Baghdad wearing his black SWAT team cap stitched with a silver eagle.

Smith, who lived in Vista, died on April 5 in Doha, Qatar, from wounds suffered a day earlier while battling enemy forces in central Iraq, according to the Defense Department. He was the highest-ranking enlisted Marine to die in the war in Iraq.

Many of those who spoke Thursday said they are struggling to understand how Smith, who could have been far from enemy fire because of his rank, would be killed.

``I don't know the accounts of how he was killed, but I guarantee you it was saving his Marines, exposing himself to fire to set an example,'' said Sgt. Major Dan Hakala, who was friends with Smith for 17 years.

Hakala and others praised Smith as a natural leader whose endurance and passion inspired them to keep moving even when they were at the point of collapse.

Smith, who began his military career as a communications specialist, was skilled in Morse code. Hakala said he was impressed Smith could tap out messages while singing tunes and chewing gum.

One night when Smith's team was on patrol, 1st Sgt. Mark Clark recalled, the team's radio broke on a parachute drop but Smith used pieces of a ball point pen to tap Morse code onto parts of the radio in order to keep communications going.

Hakala recalled that when the two were training in the 1990s, he would invite Smith to unwind after a long day by having a beer. But Smith would decline, and head off instead to four hours of night classes he was taking to become a police officer.

George Vanderhoof, who met Smith in the police academy, said he often asked himself: ``Where does this guy get all this energy from?''

Smith was hired by Anaheim police as a part-time reservist in 1999 after graduating at the top of his class from Palomar Police Academy. He was recognized as the department's Reserve Rookie of the Year in 2000 and in 2001 was the Orange County Reserve Police Officer of the Year. He usually worked weekends and was part of the Special Tactics Detail that was on guard as the Anaheim Angels played in the World Series.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Tim Miller, who was Smith's supervisor on the SWAT team, called him ``a gentle giant and a good friend'' who inspired fellow officers.

He remembered meeting Smith for the first time and being ``impressed with this poster boy for the Marine Corps,'' Miller said.

He noted that when new officers report for their first day of work, many show up with a street map, but not Smith. ``Like an experienced Marine, he came to work with not one, but two compasses.''

Smith, a Chicago native, had decided to retire in January but the military delayed all retirements for a year and he was shipped overseas with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton. He wasn't eager to go to war in Iraq, but, according to his wife, Sandy, he wanted to test himself after 20 years in the Marine Corps without seeing combat.

``He said he was sorry he was leaving,'' his wife told reporters earlier this month.

On Thursday, she wiped away tears as she sat in the front row of the Marine base chapel with the couple's three children Nathan, 12, Ryan, 9, and Shelby, 8 and Smith's parents, Ronald and Barbara.

Marines in uniform carried Smith's flag-draped casket to the front of the chapel, where a wreath of red roses decorated the altar. A large photo of Smith, wearing his police uniform and a serious expression, was displayed at the side. At the close of the service, a Marine bugler played ``Taps.''

Earlier Thursday, about 1,000 people attended a memorial service in Anaheim.

Smith's remains were to be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)