When someone told Dr. Jack Smith he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, he didn’t know what the man was talking about.
Smith is in the Army Medical Reserves. While he has been called a colonel before, even a general, it was always by some interpreter overseas when he was trying to impress one of the local leaders in an effort to get his job done in some difficult situation.
One man mistook him for John Wayne. Indeed, the 6-foot-4 Bayonne native is every bit as patriotic as the legendary film star. Smith is someone who believes so much in American fighting men and women overseas he has spent two tours in war zones helping to heal them.
The promotion actually came more than a month ago, but since Smith didn’t check his email, he didn’t know about it.
“I’m not an email guy,” he said. “One of the guys told me to check my email and when I did, I found out I’d been promoted to Lt. Colonel.”
“One of the guys told me to check my email and when I did, I found out I’d been promoted to Lt. Colonel.” – Jack Smith
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Jack Smith was born and raised in Bayonne, and started his career following in his father’s footsteps to become a police officer. Later, he decided to pursue a career in medicine, perhaps influenced by his mother, who was a legendary nurse at Bayonne Hospital.
He got his degree in medicine in 1993 from St. George’s University in Grenada, and later did a residency in internal medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark.
But after he saw the attacks occur on 9/11 and helped deal with the victims at the World Trade Center site, he enlisted in the Army. Sworn in as a captain on March 29, 2003, by September 2004 he received his orders to report to Fort Benning, Ga. He was promptly shipped overseas to Afghanistan.
Others see Smith as a powerful force for good
In a tribute to his brother several years ago, Mayor Mark Smith said just like many other people, Jack Smith’s life changed dramatically after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.
“That day, he ferried over to Manhattan to do triage. I saw my brother early in the day and had a brief discussion with him about his going over to Ground Zero,” Mark said. “As the day went on, our role in Bayonne changed. We were going to be set up as a forward triage area to help the hurt. As it turned out, most of those who were injured didn’t survive, so we began to help those who did, here in Bayonne.”
Mark saw Smith later in the day and realized that the events of 9/11 had a significant impact on him. Smith felt he hadn’t done enough, and he later approached the family to say that he had enlisted in the United States Army and had taken a commission as a captain.
“He needed to do something to make a difference. Jack is the type that commits to taking action,” Mark said.
Rep. Albio Sires, in a statement before the U.S. House of Representatives two years ago, called Smith “a great American.”
“After seeing the second plane hit the World Trade Center on 9/11, Dr. Smith immediately left his Bayonne practice and went to help treat victims,” Sires said. ”He said he felt the world had changed that day, and he decided to enlist in the Army Medical Reserve at 49 years old.”
U. S. Sen. Robert Menendez had similar things to say about Smith’s service in Afghanistan.
“After being called to duty in October 2004, Dr. Smith was sent to serve in the 325th medical combat unit of the United States Army,” Menendez said in a speech before the U.S. Senate. “While in Afghanistan, he spent much of his time in platoon hospitals, often near dangerous combat operations. The situation required that Dr. Smith utilize his strong skills both as a physician and as a soldier.”
More than he thought
Smith arrived at Baghram Air Base in Afghanistan before the end of the year to work at the 325th Army Support Hospital.
Although he expected to take care of wounded soldiers, Dr. Smith soon realized that he had an even larger role in helping a war-torn nation heal.
Civilians came from miles around to his triage area to receive medical help. Dr. Smith did not turn them away, instead organizing volunteers in local villages to help people and often traveling via armored convoy to remote villages.
Almost as soon as he landed, he had to help wounded soldiers coming in from the combat zone. The scene was full of the noise of taking off and landing helicopters and other air craft. He even helped civilians, although under regulations he could only help those with severe eye injuries or life-threatening situations. Sometimes, the locals let him help. Sometimes – as with a boy early on – they did not. The boy later died.
Smith was part of the Surgical Combat Hospital Unit, which operated an on-site hospital near the airfield, treating both military and civilians during combat missions. But he also provided humanitarian relief to villages that had no other medical facilities, often drawing thousands of people from miles around whenever his unit set up a clinic. A captain during his tour in Afghanistan, he was promoted to the rank of major prior to his being shipped out to Iraq in late 2006.
His second tour was with the First Squadron of the 167th R-S-T-A Cavalry Unit in Iraq. There, he worked at the battalion aid station, the Air Force Theatre Hospital, and gave medical support for two intelligence-gathering missions outside the wire.
Smith is a strong supporter of the troops
“They are very courageous and unbelievably great people,” Smith said. “They know they have a mission and they are doing what they are supposed to do.”
During his tour in Iraq, which was then an extremely violent place, Smith said some entertainers managed to get to meet with Gary Sinise, who played roles in films like “Forrest Gump” and whose band tours the world in support of the troops.
“I’m very proud of our young people over there,” he said. “They are doing a great job under horrific conditions.”
Fortunately for him, Smith will not likely see combat again.