Marine Cpl. Matthew R. Smith

Died January 26, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of West Valley, Utah; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; killed Jan. 26 when the CH-53E helicopter in which he was riding crashed near Rutbah, Iraq. Twenty-nine Marines and one sailor also were killed.

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Utah Marine killed in chopper crash in Iraq

By Leon D’souza

Associated Press

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Had Cpl. Matthew Smith made it back to base, he would have been greeted by a flood of e-mails from his anxious mother.

But the Utah man never had a chance to read those messages, estimated at about 600 by his mother, Colleen Parkin.

Smith, 24, who was assisting U.S. forces in securing Fallujah, Iraq, for this weekend’s elections was one of 31 service members killed in a helicopter crash in a desert storm. He had been deployed in Iraq since October 2004.

Family members huddled at their suburban Salt Lake City home on Thursday confirmed that their son had been killed when a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter packed with Marines crashed on Wednesday.

“He died a hero and brave,” said Parkin, choking back tears.

The crash was the single worst incident, in terms of U.S. casualties, since the beginning of the Iraq war.

Smith’s father, Gary, described the Marine marksman as a news junkie, always hungry for timely updates from newspapers, magazines and especially from the family.

He was proud to be serving his country, Gary Smith said. For his son, being a military man had been a lifelong dream. As a child, Smith would talk about joining the Army to protect his family.

“He would walk around and say, ‘I’m going to protect you guys,”’ Parkin said, smiling at the memory of her gun-loving toddler.

After joining the Marines in 2001, Smith kept tales of his exploits from his mother.

“He tells his war stories to his dad and brothers but not Mom,” she said, switching between present and past tense as she spoke of her son, seemingly grappling with the reality of his tragic death.

“It’s hard to shed tears and realize that it’s happened,” Gary Smith said, especially since Smith had been through and survived more chilling combat experiences.

Smith had described situations in Iraq when he could literally feel the bullets whizzing by, Gary Smith said. “He was my hero.”

Gary Smith said he was still coming to terms with his son’s death.

The news of the accident took him by surprise. He was at work Tuesday when he received a phone call from another son at home, who told him the Marines were there and things weren’t good.

Fully aware of the helicopter crash from the news, Gary Smith said he felt cold dread creep up on him.

“I was in shock,” he said. “I knew they were all Marines and I thought there’s a chance that he was with them.”

“Are you sure it’s Matthew?” asked his mother, Parkin, who was convinced she had lost her son only after the messengers from the Marines recited his Social Security number.

She still has one last message for him, though this one won’t be e-mailed.

“I’m proud of you,” Parkin said, fighting back tears as another son wrapped his arm around her tightly. “I can’t wait to wrap my arms around you and tell you, ‘I love you.”’

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Family, friends remember fallen Marine

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Family and friends remembered a 24-year-old Utah Marine killed in Iraq as an active man who loved to camp, fish, hunt and shoot guns.

Cpl. Matthew Smith was killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter carrying him and 30 others crashed. His funeral Saturday was attended by Gov. Jon Huntsman and Brian Johnston, a Lehi Marine and friend of Smith who lost an arm and a leg when a Humvee he was riding in took mortar fire in Fallujah last year.

“He died for his country,” his father, Gary Reed Smith said. “You don’t have any greater love than to lay down your life (for) freedom — in this case, the Iraqi people.”

At the grave site, eight Marines carried Smith’s casket from the hearse to its resting place. After a 21-gun salute, a bugler played ‘Taps’.

— Associated Press