Justin S. Smith
First Lieutenant, United States Army
August 4, 1977 – November 7, 2005
Age – 28
Lansing, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, CO
Killed by an improvised explosive device while on foot Patrol in Baghdad, Iraq
A graduate of Waverly High School, Justin Smith excelled in sports, with his passions being wrestling and football. From a young age he was destined to wear a uniform. After high school graduation in 1995 he joined the Army and attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He became a signal specialist and later earned his Airborne (Jump) Wings. 1LT Smith worked diligently to be promoted to the next rank. His hard work and leadership skills paid off when he was offered a slot in the Army’s Green to Gold Commissioning Program. In 2004, 1LT Smith completed the ROTC program and earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Campbell University. After graduation, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and a short time later, earned his promotion to 1st Lieutenant. One of his favorite past-times was dancing – which is how he met his wife. They were married soon after meeting and were later blessed with a son.
1LT Smith’s military career included a tour in Bosnia and one in South Korea. He was on his third tour in Iraq when he made the ultimate sacrifice. His wife said he was keeping a journal of his experiences in the war and he was planning to share it with her when he came home. She said her husband was proud to be a soldier and “believed in what he was doing.”
Justin was a devoted son, brother, grandson and later husband. When he became a father to Ayden last year, the boy became the center of his orbit. Every call he made from Iraq, every e-mail he sent was devoted to details of the baby’s first steps, his first teeth, his first birthday party, his first “bye-bye.” And now, Ayden, who shares his father’s eyes and even his strong hands, will know his dad through photographs and other people’s memories.
She described her husband, whom she met at a dance and married six months later, as an extremely good-looking, loving person. “He was so strong — a protector,” Shellie Smith said. “He was hot: When my friends met him they were like ‘Oh my God.’ But he was more beautiful inside than he was outside. Everybody liked Justin. I know that’s a cliche, but he was so good to everybody.”