Battle Assessment Commemorates Medal of Honor Recipient
Members of the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion led a group of fellow soldiers from Camp Victory to the scene where Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith earned the Medal of Honor and lost his life.

By U.S. Army Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, May 9, 2005 — In remembrance of the Global War on Terrorism's first Medal of Honor recipient, Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, soldiers from Camp Victory conducted a battle assessment ride May 4 to the scene of Smith's last battle. Members of the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion, 525th MI Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., conducted a slide and battlefield presentation to enlighten soldiers on what took place April 4, 2003, the day Smith lost his life.
"It's critical for soldiers to be able to see and have described to them what heroism really is and what it looks like." U.S. Army Capt. James B. Cogbill, 319th Military Intelligence Battalion
Capt. James B. Cogbill, commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company, 319th MI, orchestrated the event. Cogbill said he originally heard about the Smith story before he deployed to Iraq in December. "Before we came over here, I heard about this guy who lost his life defending a courtyard in Baghdad," Cogbill said. "I was interested in the story, so I went to the Army Web site to get more information. What I hadn't realized was the battle was so close to here." Cogbill said his battalion runs a noncommissioned officer and officer professional development session each month, and about the time of month the development session came around, so did his idea. "I asked our battalion commander if we could do our NCO/officer professional development on the Paul R. Smith courtyard battle," Cogbill said. "I got the go-ahead and was able to get Smith's platoon leader, Capt. (then 2nd Lt.) Brian Borkowski on the phone. "He was very excited about helping and said he was very glad that we are keeping the memory of such a great NCO alive, and I told him we were glad to do it," Cogbill said. Part of Cogbill's presentation was a visual representation taken from The Army Home Page and the St. Petersburg Times

Web site. The Web sites displayed a virtual battlefield with detailed information that reconstructed the events that occurred that day. Along with information from Borkowski, Cogbill was able to demonstrate these events at the battlefield. Located 250 meters from the 319th headquarters, the courtyard and surrounding environment has changed little. Numerous bullet holes adorn the tower where Smith unloaded many of the more than 300 .50-caliber rounds he fired from atop an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. Un-spent, corroding rounds and a metal canteen are some of the battlefield relics that still lay strewn about the area. Soldiers were able get inside the tower to get a bird's eye view of the battlefield and stand at the remains of the gate where Pfc. Thomas Ketchum, Pvt. James Martens and Sgt. Joshua Henry first saw Iraqi soldiers streaming in from the east. Cogbill invited soldiers to climb up on the crumbled remains of the courtyard wall, which gave them a view of the highway heading eastbound into Baghdad. This was where Smith and the soldiers of 2nd platoon, Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga., entered the courtyard. From this vantage point, soldiers on the ride could get a visual layout of where troops and equipment were during the battle. Cogbill explained the importance of the battle at the end of his presentation, and answered any questions the troops had. "It is important that we take whatever lessons we can from our military past," Cogbill said. "I also think it is important that we learn from Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith. It's critical for soldiers to be able to see and have described to them what heroism really is and what it looks like." Staff Sgt. Quintana J. Hankins, maintenance platoon sergeant in Headquarters and Headquarters Support Company, 319th MI Bn., was a participant at the presentation. She said she relished the opportunity to be able to get to out and see the battlefield first hand. "I had no idea that this had taken place here," Hankins said. "We need to be reminded how things have changed since 2003, and to remind us that a lot of people have lost their lives out here."