Florida Senate - 2012                            (NP)    SR 2032
       
       
       
       By Senator Fasano
       
       
       
       
       11-01899-12                                           20122032__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the valor and distinguished
    3         service of United States Army Sergeant First Class
    4         Paul Ray Smith.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, Paul Ray Smith was born on September 24, 1969, in
    7  El Paso, Texas, and moved with his family to Tampa when he was
    8  nine years old, and
    9         WHEREAS, United States Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray
   10  Smith served his country with great valor and distinction as a
   11  member of Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry
   12  Division, and
   13         WHEREAS, Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was well-known
   14  among his fellow soldiers as a strong, exceptional leader who
   15  “led from the front,” and
   16         WHEREAS, during battle on April 4, 2003, Sergeant First
   17  Class Paul Ray Smith and his fellow soldiers, although
   18  significantly outnumbered, fought with great determination to
   19  protect the lives and positions of other solders in the area,
   20  and
   21         WHEREAS, during that battle, Sergeant First Class Paul Ray
   22  Smith repeatedly exposed himself to overwhelming enemy fire
   23  until he was fatally wounded, and
   24         WHEREAS, Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith was
   25  posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in
   26  recognition of his heroic actions on that day, and
   27         WHEREAS, the Senate wishes to express its untold gratitude
   28  to Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith’s widow, Birgit, and his
   29  children, David and Jessica, who currently reside in Holiday,
   30  NOW, THEREFORE,
   31  
   32  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   33  
   34         That the members of the Senate recognize Army Sergeant
   35  First Class Paul Ray Smith, whose sacrificial conduct epitomizes
   36  the extraordinary character and selfless nature of our nation’s
   37  fighting forces, and honor the ultimate sacrifice made on behalf
   38  of a grateful nation.
   39         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   40  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the family of
   41  United States Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith as a
   42  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.