Army Ranger Corporal James E. Smith Jr., 21, of Long Valley, NJ, served with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was killed on October 3, 1993, during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia (“Black Hawk Down”). Smith’s team fought through heavy enemy fire to reach the crash site of the Black Hawk helicopter. While helping secure the site and rescue its crew, he was shot in the thigh, severing his femoral artery. Despite desperate efforts by his fellow Rangers, he died several hours later. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.

CRP Smith graduated from West Morris Central High School in 1990, where he played varsity football and lacrosse. Inspired by his father—a former Army Ranger—Cpl Smith enlisted with the specific goal of becoming a Ranger. After completing training at Fort Benning, Georgia, he joined Company B as a machine gunner and became one of his regiment’s top gunners.

Brigadier General James Boddie Jr. remembered him as a “brave and selfless Soldier” whose courage, love of country and family never wavered.

CPL Smith was survived by his parents and two brothers.