Honoring the Memory of Sean Smith
Dec 11, 2012
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Representative C.W. Bill Young organized a tribute today at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center to honor Sean Smith, who was killed in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Government Mission to Libya in Benghazi along with Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and former United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) Operators, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. The tribute included the placement of a plaque to honor Mr. Smith, who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom. The plaque, which includes a picture of Sean Smith as well as remarks made by Representative Young on the floor of the House of Representatives, provides a lasting tribute at Bay Pines to Sean, will serve as a reminder of his selfless dedication to our country.
Today’s ceremony was especially moving for Sean’s father, Ray Smith of Gulfport, FL, as it occurred on his 64th birthday. Ray, who receives his medical care at Bay Pines, sees this plaque as a way he can visit with his son when he goes to the hospital. Suzanne Klinker, the Director of Bay Pines, also attended the ceremony and assisted Representative Young with his efforts to place the plaque at the Medical Center.
The plaque reads:
“Sean Smith was a native of the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California and seemed destined to serve his nation. His father, Rene ‘‘Ray’’ Smith, my constituent from Gulfport, Florida, was a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. The elder Smith often served as a ‘‘tunnel rat,’’ crawling deep into Vietcong underground facilities in search of the enemy. In 1970, during a firefight, he was burned over 60 percent of his body after the brush he was in caught fire. He raised Sean to appreciate the freedoms our nation provides and to be willing to fight for them.
Sean enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1995 at the age of 17, so young that he needed a parental release. He served six years as a Ground Radio Maintenance Specialist, which included a deployment to Oman. Sean left the Air Force in 2002 as a Staff Sergeant. At the time of his death, Sean was on temporary assignment to assist in the establishment of the Information Technology infrastructure in support of the Mission to Libya. Before his assignment to Benghazi, Sean had given 10 years of dedicated service to the State Department around the globe in Brussels, Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal, and The Hague.
A technological guru, Sean’s computer savvy was not limited to his United States Air Force and State Department duties. Sean was an avid gamer and well known in the online gaming community of the space fantasy game EVE Online. A leader of the ‘‘Goonswarm’’ guild, his gaming persona ‘‘Vile Rat’’ made use of Sean’s skills as a diplomat and he was respected as a skilled competitor. Additionally, Sean was a moderator of the internet forum, ‘‘Something Awful,’’ where he posted about football, politics and working with the Foreign Service.
In the lobby of the State Department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are inscribed in marble. Sean’s name has been added along with his compatriots, Ambassador Stevens, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods. In the same tradition, a plaque will be placed in the lobby of the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, where Sean’s father receives his primary care, to commemorate his life and the daily sacrifices made by our veterans.
Sean is survived by his father Ray, mother Pat, wife Heather, and two young children, Samantha and Nathan. Beyond his family, Sean will be forever mourned by friends, colleagues, and countless online competitors, collaborators and gamers, who shared his passion in the virtual world Sean helped create. They are the true victims of this act of terror. While Sean’s pain has ended, they will have to continue life without a beloved son, caring husband, nurturing father, and extraordinary friend.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Nation, I join my colleagues today in recognizing Sean Patrick Smith for his dedicated service to his country. He has made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom and his fellow Americans and we are forever in his debt. We wish his family all the best as they continue in their life’s journey, and hope they find solace in knowing that their beloved Sean shall forever be remembered as a true patriot and hero.”
http://video.tbo.com/v/67874166/benghazi-victim-honored-at-bay-pines-medical-center.htm
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/20308946/2012/12/10/benghazi-victim-honored-at-bay-pines
