Perhaps the saddest part of any combat operation is the prospect of friendly fire. It’s something that we in the military train hard to avoid, but always happens to some degree or another.
In 2003, while we were fighting our way north, my troop even came under fire by another troop that mistook us in the early morning for the Iraqis. They hadn’t expected us to cut through their defense as quickly as we did and they thought the Iraqis had turned around to go after them. Luckily, no one was injured in the short confusion, but it highlights that it happens.
Today, in Dallas, a huge procession brought home a Marine hero, Jeremy Smith, killed by a friendly Predator drone. Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Smith was killed by friendly fire in Helmand province last week. Pentagon officials say a Predator drone aircraft fired the missile that killed the Marine and a Navy medic. Texans came out in droves to honor the Soldier’s sacrifice as he was transported to his final resting place.
What I really wanted to highlight about this whole incident is the reaction of Smith’s father, Jerry Smith. It would be very easy to blame the military for killing his son and he is obviously well within his rights to be angry at the people responsible. Instead, he had this to say:
“Whoever that young man or woman was, they didn’t send that drone over there to kill my son or Doc Rast,” he said. “If it was a royal screwup, it was a royal screwup. Make corrections because I don’t want another family to have to go through this. But trying to put a bigger burden on that person who fired the missile is not something I would do.
“I guarantee you if he was standing in front of me, he’d be asking for forgiveness, and I would give it to him.”
God bless our troops, but especially our Gold Star Families! I hope that the Smith family is able to find peace in their sacrifice and the comfort of knowing that he died protecting and defending freedom.