Marine Pfc. Brandon C. Smith

Died March 18, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

20, of Washington, Ark.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed in action March 18 in Qaim, Iraq.

At 16, Brandon C. Smith knew he wanted to join the Marines, but his father wouldn't give the teenager his permission. So Smith waited, enlisting in September 2003. "He was stubborn, like his granddad," Gordon Smith said of his son. "He made up his mind years ago that he was going into the Marines." The 20-year-old Marine from Fayetteville, Ark., was trying to help comrades under attack when he was killed by mortar fire March 18 in Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms, Calif. The Marine made a point of spending time with his friends, choosing jobs that allowed him to work with his buddies. "He was more outgoing and spontaneous around his friends," Gordon Smith said. Pfc. Brandon Smith was driven to succeed, his father said. "He wanted to be the best, and the Marines were the best," Gordon Smith said. Pfc. Smith planned to attend college and become an officer.

— Associated Press