Tristan Smith: Beyond a Hero

It was a day when hearts ached and tears fell. It was a day when grief stung and pride swelled, and prayers reached out – to seek comfort and to give comfort.

On August 27, 2006, 23-year-old Tristan Caleb Smith (BS '02, BAC) was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was serving as a weapons specialist with the U.S. Army's Fourth Infantry Division.

In his 2002 high school yearbook, Tristan had chosen a somewhat prescient motto from Micah 7:8: "Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy. If I fall, I shall arise."

That is the kind of young man he was – all about giving and helping and volunteering, and knowing ultimately Who he was serving.

Tristan was the son of Grant and Kim Smith (BS/GS '76), and older brother to Alizah, Jennica and Jaron. As all of Bryn Athyn was reeling from his death, his father said of him: "Tristan was a great guy who was a leader and loved working with kids. This has touched the entire community."

It was not just the Bryn Athyn and Academy community that was touched. It was also a community of firefighters and volunteers – some of whom had worked closely with Tristan, some who never knew him, but all joined in honoring him as a brother.

Tristan's life was helping people. He was a Life Scout, sang with Teen Praise, was a leader and mentor in SWET, and distinguished himself as a volunteer fireman and EMT assistant, rising to lieutenant in the Bryn Athyn Fire Company. He was named Fireman of the Year and cited for his heroism in helping to save two people from the roof of a burning building. Typically of him, he forgot to tell his parents about that.

The same commitment that led him to become a volunteer firefighter at age 16 led him to join the Army at 21. Grant said his yearning for the military went back to his teen years – and no doubt was motivated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A friend said Tristan joined the Army "to go to Iraq to help the kids."

Before that fateful day in August, Tristan e-mailed his family about three close calls with explosive devices. He was in danger constantly. But he wore two sets of dog tags. One set was U.S. Army. The other carried his conviction: Si Vivo, vivo in Domino. Si Morior, morior in Domino. (If I live, I live in the Lord. If I die, I die in the Lord.)

Tristan had been in Iraq for five months when he came home on leave last April. Because he was so dedicated to serving others, it surprised no one that he spent much of his leave training volunteer firefighters. His family and friends last saw him at a happy goodbye party.

Grant said of his last days with Tristan: "He grew up. He really seemed sure of who he was and what he wanted to do. He was looking forward to getting out and moving ahead with his life."
He had become so much a part of so many volunteer and support groups that Lach Brown (BS '68), a Vietnam veteran, said, "Tristan was the son of Grant and Kim, but a lot of other men called him son as well."

One of those was the Rev. Grant Schnarr, classmate of Grant and Kim, whose first official act as a New Church minister was to baptize Tristan. He also conducted a moving memorial service for him.

In that service he said: "Could any of us have imagined at that time that this little boy, who was born 3 pounds and struggled for quite a while to survive at birth, would one day – as both a spiritual and natural warrior – bravely charge into the heat of the battle?"

In describing what Tristan had achieved in his 23 short years, Grant quoted Shakespeare's observation that some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them, "But there are others who quietly open their eyes in wonder to this world, desire to be of help, seeking only to serve, and out of the ordinary emerges the extraordinary, the exemplary."

Later in the memorial address he said: "Anyone and everyone who lays down his life for his country in military service deserves to be called a hero. Those who also lived for the Lord and His kingdom, the way Tristan did, well, they are a cut above the rest."

(You can hear Grant Schnarr's memorial address, and also a cathedral prayer service at www.brynathyncathedral.org. You can link to them from www.ancalumni.org, where you can also find links to television coverage by the local ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates and an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

Tristan's moving service was preceded and followed by one of the most solemn, poignant and proud processions ever seen in Bryn Athyn.

Greg Jakubowski, a life member of the Bryn Athyn Fire Company for 25 years, former Assistant Chief and member of the Board of Directors, arranged for fire company salutes from Dover Air Force Base, where Tristan's body was returned, to Bryn Athyn. Crews from Bryn Athyn, Willow Grove and Horsham helped bring Tristan home. All along the route were firemen at attention outside their fire houses, flags draped from bridges and ladder trucks, and horns paying mournful tribute.

After the service there was another emotional procession from the cathedral to the Bryn Athyn Firehouse, led by the dirge of bagpipes and drums, and joined by Boy Scouts, military personnel and firemen from all over the region.

Someone in the Army who had heard Grant's address was so impressed that he was invited with Grant Smith and Lach Brown to Ft. Hood, Texas, for a memorial service for the 15 Fourth Infantry servicemen who had been killed in action in Iraq in August.

Grant wrote in the Bryn Athyn Post: "The memorial service was very moving. Photos of the fallen soldiers were neatly placed in the front of the altar. Each man was memorialized by an officer or fellow soldier. I was the only civilian to be invited to speak. After the ceremony they called out roll call for each of the fallen soldiers, and then there was the 21-gun salute and Taps. Several generals, congressmen and notables were on hand and made a special effort to connect with the families of the fallen.

"The soldiers were very glad we came, and we were able to speak at some length about Tristan and share our beliefs. It felt as if they had let us into their family."

The pictures and memories from these solemn days are indelible. Picture this lasting portrait from Greg Jakubowski's account of "Tristan's Last Ride":

"As we came into Huntingdon Valley, dozens of residents from Gloria Dei Towers and Manor stood in front of their building with American flags and U.S. Army flags and saluted us. As we turned north onto Huntingdon Pike, American flags were abundantly displayed throughout the business district – including in front of the apartment building where Tristan helped save two lives. The procession made its final pass past the Bryn Athyn Fire Station at 1 p.m.
"Tristan was home."

Grant Smith,