In Memory of Our
brother in arms SGT Orenthial Smith
I am convinced
that neither
death nor life...
nor anything else
in all creation will
be able to
separate
us from the love
of God that is in
Christ Jesus
our Lord
Sergeant
Orenthial Javon Smith entered the Army at Fort Benning, Georgia in June 1999.
Since his enlistment, he has
served as a Petroleum Supply Specialist, Unit
Armoror, and Unit Supply Clerk. Sergeant
Smith's assignments include
Basic Combat Training, Charlie Company, 1/38
Infantry, Fort Benning, Georgia; Advanced Individual Training
(Petroleum Supply
Specialist Course), Company V, 262nd Quartermaster Battalion, Fort
Lee, Virginia; Petroleum
Supply Specialist, Alpha Company, 703rd Main
Support Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia; Petroleum Supply Specialist,
Alpha
Company, 123rd Main Support Battalion, Dexheim, Germany.
Sergeant
Smith has attended numerous Army
schools
and training programs, including the
Petroleum Vehicle Operator Course (H7), Hazardous Material Handling
Course, Unit
Armoror Course, and the Primary Leadership Development Course. His
awards and decorations include
the Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement
Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service
Ribbon, National
Defense Service Medal, Expert Marksmanship Badge, and the 123rd Main Support
Battalion
Logistics Hero for January 2003.
Words
from SFC Kevin Hill 
I
CAN RECALL WHEN SGT SMITH FIRST ARRIVED AT THE UNIT. HE WAS ENERGETIC,
MOTIVATED, AND HIGH SPIRITED. I COULD TELL
FROM THE FIRST MOMENT I SPOKE WITH
HIM THAT HE WAS MORE THAN JUST A MOTIVATED SOLDIER READY TO EXPERIENCE
NEW
THINGS AT A NEW DUTY STATION. SGT SMITH WAS THE TYPE OF SOLDIER EVERY LEADER
WISHED THEY JUST HAD ONE OR
TWO MORE OF TO WORK ALONG SIDE . SGT SMITH WAS THE
KIND OF SOLDIER YOU COULD GIVE A MISSION TO AND BE
COMFORTABLE IN KNOWING THE
TASK WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED. SGT SMITH TOOK PRIDE IN HIS APPEARANCE, HIS DUTY TO
HIS
SQUAD, PLATOON, UNIT, AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY. SGT SMITH WAS ALWAYS EAGER
TO TAKE ON NEW CHALLENGES.
SGT SMITH WAS ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE THE BEST SOLDIER
HE COULD BE, WHETHER IT BE GRADUATING AT THE TOP OF HIS
PRIMARY LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT COURSE, ASSUMING THE ENORMOUS RESPONSIBILITY OF UNIT ARMOROR, OR
JUST
ACCOMPLISHING THE DAILY DUTIES THAT ARE CONSIDERED ROUTINE IN THE MILITARY.
SGT SMITH WAS GOING TO BE AN
OUTSTANDING LEADER ONE DAY. WE ARE ALL DEEPLY
SADDENED BY THE LOSS OF A SPECIAL PERSON WHOM WILL BE TRULY
MISSED BY NOT ONLY
THIS UNIT BUT ALSO THE ENTIRE MILITARY. SGT SMITH HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT ON
EVERYONE HE HAD
CONTACT WITH.
Although suffering is universal, it is
the events of our personal lives that test our mettle. Just as
persecution
strengthens the strong and chokes the weak in faith, so it is with suffering.
Those who do not understand
its purpose often blame God; those who know God
yearn all the more for the day when death and suffering will be
swallowed up in
victory (1 Cor. 15:54), and strive all the more to be worthy of that day.
Words
From SSG Mario Claytor 
When I heard the news, I happen to be near a TV and wouldn't you know it, the news gave our boy 15 seconds, 15 seconds. I am grateful that I have been given a chance to speak just a little bit longer about my friend, Orenthial Javon Smith. Smith, who we affectionately called SMITTY, deserves to be talked about for much, much longer than 15 seconds.
He is our friend, our comrade, a leader, our cadence king, a fine soldier, a loving son, a grandson, a brother, our play station buddy, our go-cart partner, a hard and honest worker, a righteous Christian and a true patriot. I say IS because, I know in my heart, that SMITTY will go back with me to Iraq and watch over all of us down range. He'll live and be with all of us. As long as we wear this 1st AD patch, that is where SMITTY will be, right next to us. SMITTY was from a small town in South Carolina and like many of us who are from small towns, SMITTY was that polite young man who knew how to open doors for ladies and long before the army- knew how to say "yes ma'am" and "no sir". SMITTY knew how to work, and work hard. Any time - and I mean any time - I needed to get something done, my first and last stop was to go to SMITTY. I trusted him with the business and affairs of POL second squad. He never missed a beat when I wasn't there. He got on the soldiers harder than I did sometimes! His standards were always at the highest they could be. His uniform perfect, boots on "bling" status and his haircut was always high and tight because ~ I was his barber! SMITTY got a 149 on the last board he went to. At Primary Leadership Development Course, SMITTY made the commandants list. No shock to me. When Smitty set his mind to something, it got done and got done well.
You know you know a person when you know who they don't like, but SMITTY liked everyone. What he hated was laziness. SMITTY didn't have the word lazy in his vocabulary. He didn't have the word SELFISH either. As soldiers, we have seven army values that we have sworn to live by and the one that sticks out and yells "SMITTY" is SELFLESS SERVICE. He always put everyone's thoughts and needs before his own ~ which leads me to believe that on that convoy, where he made the ultimate sacrifice, SMITTY was no doubt, covering and protecting someone else. I will miss my friend. He taught me so much about our job. He is the rocker under these three stripes I wear. This is a new MOS for me and I give him and all the others that loved him right along with me (like Sheerer, Miller, Lesane, Powell, Lemire, Weitz, Sgt. Benson, Sgt Ruger, Sgt Gutierrez, Sgt Jones and SSG Brown) for being my teacher. SMITTY always used to tell me "when I become an E5, everyone is going to hate me because I am going to dig in their behinds and stay on them". I never bought that because SMITTY, has hard as he was, was equally soft hearted. Now that SMITTY can't get into any trouble, I have to bust him out and tell you about how he harbored many NCO's during a duty day. SSG BROWN, SGT JONES, SGT WODDY, SGT BENSON, SSG CLAYTOR, PFC GIONSON, SPC LEMIRE, AND SPC LESANE would gather and okay ~ HIDE~ from 1SGT McQueen! We would stay up in SMITTY'S room and drink his Pepsi's and eat his food and have big, loud MADDEN tournaments. It never failed; he would cuss us out for eating his food and drinking all his sodas, but SMITTY would always go and buy more food and more Pepsi's for us, so the next time that we all gathered, it would happen all over again! What will become of Alpha company/POL after the reality of all of this sets in? I don't know. I know that POL and all of 123rd really are in a world of hurt. We lost someone with such and incredible spirit. SMITTY had so much vigor and excitement for life. I found and old LES of his when I was going through some paperwork last night and I noticed that SMITTY had accumulated 61 days of leave. He hadn't taken any time off since he arrived in Dexheim. I bring this up because only a few days ago, I remember him saying how much he was looking forward to getting home from this campaign and using those leave days and spending time with his mom and sister. It is sickening to think about things like this. I can only pray that his family and our ARMY family will find some way to live through this loss. This is the business that we are in though. For GOD AND COUNTRY we face countries and people that set out everyday to hurt us. We join the army for lots of reasons: good benefits, steady pay, health insurance, college tuition, and free trips to Iraq! We don't join the army to die. We train and train, and train to keep from becoming a casualty but still every night, the news spends 15 seconds talking about another soldier who lost their life... and during those 15 seconds, every spouse back at home holds her breath and every mother of a service member pauses and thinks ~ please don't be my man, please don't be my son. This is the business that we are in. SMITTY just joined those thousands and thousands of men and women who traded it all in so that we can live in peace. I will miss my friend. He often came to my house and sat on my couches and made me watch NASCAR racing with him. He wrestled with my son and shooed away my dog! We ate countless Sunday dinners at my table and afterward had long barbershop conversations while I cut his hair. When I received news down range that my wife had given birth to our daughter Maya, Smitty was so excited for us. Traditionally, it’s the parents who ask someone to be godfather or godmother to their child, but in his excitement, SMITTY asked ME if he could be godfather to my daughter! I am glad he asked, because now I know that my daughter has an angel on her side, who we had the pleasure of knowing. If I know SMITTY, he'll come to her aid, and rescue her and warn her of danger... and if she acts up, I hope that he'll come down and spook her! I will miss my friend. They say that the character of a man is defined by how he treats the person who can do nothing for him. That was SMITTY. He treated everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of which they were. Kind of like CHRIST. Selfless, loving, kind and sacrificial. My wife is from Samoa and she was telling me that there is a saying that they say to people that have gone on ~ Ia Manuia Lou Malaga. It means ~ may your journey be joyful. SMITTY, I hope that your eternal voyages are joyful and that your ancestors welcome you home with open arms. We will miss you and look forward to seeing you again. I'm sure that you will have lots of food and Pepsi's waiting for us, huh?! I love you SMITTY.
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