in memoriam

SGT Joseph Smith

Thomasville, NC

Mission Accomplished on Oct. 29, 2011

 
Homes For Our Troops extends our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Army Sergeant Joseph Smith, who passed away Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017.

Joseph sustained a spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an attack at his Forward Operating Base (FOB) while serving in Afghanistan in November 2004.

Through the efforts of HFOT volunteers, donors, and sponsors, Joseph received the keys to his North Carolina home in October 2011. He was a member of the US Biathlon Team, competing in Archery, hand cycling, swimming, and shooting. He completed his first Marine Corps Marathon on his hand cycle in 2009. Before his injuries, Joseph was a boxer for both the Army and the Marines and appeared on HBO in a boxing tournament in 2002.

Joseph wrote the official Wounded Warrior Creed adopted by the Marine Corps. The creed reads: Though I am wounded, I will always be a warrior. I will never give up, nor quit in the face of adversity. I will do my best in all that I do and achieve. I will not allow my injuries to limit me, and most of all, I will never forget my fallen comrades or leave a fellow injured warrior behind.

Joseph was a valued member of the HFOT Family, and we will miss him greatly.