Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, second from left, gets a hug from Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, left, as his wife Kirkland Smith, right, and Rep. Joseph Neal, D-Richland, rear, watch during a session of the South Carolina House of Representatives at the State House Thursday. It was Smith's first day back after returning from Afghanistan where he was serving with the Army National Guard.
After 15 months in Afghanistan, Rep. James Smith, tanned, trim and sporting a high and tight haircut, returned to the House of Representatives on Thursday to standing ovations and hugs.
“There’s nothing like a year in combat to make you appreciate home,” said Smith, a Columbia Democrat, who commanded a nine-man Army National Guard team in southern Afghanistan.
By day, the team trained Afghan police officers and worked to build trust between the fledgling security forces and skeptical villagers.
By night, Smith and his men hopped on Humvees and tracked down and fought the Taliban across mountainous terrain and vast stretches of dessert.
Smith, 40, said he longed for the green of South Carolina, the shade of its trees, the thickness of its air compared with the thin air of Afghanistan and blowing sand that managed to get everywhere.
But the growing trust of the Afghan people and improvement in security forces kept his spirits high and his heart full.
“This experience is more than I ever expected,” he said between votes on the House floor. “There is such tremendous positive progress that we’re making in Afghanistan. We see hope in the faces of children who are going to school for the first time. We’re winning. We’ve got to continue our involvement there.”
Smith joined the Army Reserve in 1996 as a lawyer. He switched to the Army National Guard two years later.
In 2003, Smith resigned his commission as a captain to re-enlist in the infantry.
That meant starting all over with boot camp — 3 a.m. latrine cleanings and obeying the barking orders of a drill sergeant younger than he.
Why did Smith do it?
The 9/11 attacks had moved him. He could no longer deny his desire to be more involved, to lead soldiers into battle and ensure they made it home alive.
And military service was in his blood. His father was a Navy vet of Vietnam, two of his uncles were Marines in Vietnam and his grandfather was a gunnery officer during World War II.
When he left the State House during the 2006 session for officer training in Georgia, he put on hold life with his wife, Kirkland, four small children, a lucrative law practice and speculation he would seek statewide office, possibly the office of governor.
Friend Rep. Doug Jennings, D-Marlboro, encouraged Smith not to go.
“I told him he had too much to lose,” Jennings recalled. “He told me, ‘It’s not about politics. It’s not a choice. I’ve got to do this.’
“He’s such a unique individual,” Jennings said. “He’s committed to fighting for what he believes in on the battlefield or the House floor. There are leaders. Then there are leaders of leaders. He’s one them.”
Another close friend, Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, talked on the phone every other week with Smith during his deployment.
“He would call me just to get the pulse of what was going in Columbia, at the State House, what’s going on with the Gamecocks,” Lourie said. “It was a way for him to stay connected to his other life, the one waiting for him here in Columbia.”
And every day, Lourie and others prayed for the day Smith would return home.
That day came Tuesday as Lourie and Smith’s family waited by the runway at Eagle Aviation.
“Just to see him walk down the steps of that plane with the other soldiers, it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” Lourie said. “I found new respect for the sacrifices of soldiers and their families.”
Smith said he had considered not returning to the State House until next week.
“But I knew we may vote on the cigarette tax today so I wanted to be here,” said Smith, who supports the tax. “It’s important to my constituency, and they’ve been so supportive of me during my deployment that I owe it to them to be here.”
The House ultimately voted Thursday to delay debate until next week.
Moments after adjournment, Smith’s wife hooked her arm through his, pulled him out of House chambers and toward their car.
He had just enough time to wave goodbye to well-wishers and chuckling friends like Jennings.
“He’s been gone a long time,” Jennings said.
Reach Smith at (803) 771-8658.
RSS Feeds