Local boy from my area. here is the local paper article.</p>
Lance Cpl. Zachary Smith, 19, a U.S. Marine from Hornell, was one of
two U.S. service members killed by a roadside bomb in southern
Afghanistan Saturday.</p>
The popular Hornell High graduate, married just six months ago, was remembered as a friendly young man with a bright future.</p>
“He always wanted to be a Marine. It’s something he always wanted
and looked forward to. He was taking after his uncle Matt. That’s why
he joined the Marines,” said his grandfather, Sid Smith of North
Hornell.</p>
“(Zachary) was always the life of the party. Excellent personality,
always doing harmless devilish things. He was very well liked for his
personality.”</p>
Smith’s grandmother, Alice Smith, spoke for all in the Hornell area who knew him.</p>
“He was a great kid,” she said, adding, “Full of life and and love,
always on the up. He had a lot of friends and was a thoughtful boy.”</p>
Smith is survived by his wife, Anne (Deebs) Smith, who he married
last summer, his brother Nathaniel, 23, his sister Grace, 10, and his
parents, Christopher Smith, an Amity-based state trooper who is the
Canaseraga Central School resource officer, and his wife Kim, and his
father-in-law and mother-in-law, Mike and Andrea Deebs of Hornell.</p>
Family members are traveling today to Dover, Del., to take part in
ceremonies returning their son to the United States. Funeral
arrangements have not been announced.</p>
Mayor Shawn Hogan said the Smiths are his neighbors on Mays Avenue and he was deeply saddened by the news.</p>
“He grew up across the street from me and he always brought a smile
to my face and happiness to my heart because he was such a warm
personality ... It’s almost like a part of my family is gone. I just
know this is a big loss for the community. You often hear about these
brave young men dying and it’s always somebody else’s brother or son.
Now this is something we have to cope with,” said Hogan.</p>
Hogan ordered the city flags flown at half staff Sunday morning until Smith’s body is returned home.</p>
“The brutality of war was dumped at our door step this morning and it’s ugly,” Hogan said.</p>
Zachary Smith played two seasons of varsity football at Hornell High
School, starting on the offensive line at the center position in 2007.
He graduated in 2008 and joined the Marines in July that year.</p>
Known by those close to him for his sense of humor and athleticism, Smith touched the lives of many coaches at HHS.</p>
Mickey Carretto retired from the HHS?football program after the 2008
season. Carretto coached the Red Raiders offensive line and linebackers
from 1998 to 2008.</p>
“I’ve known him since he was a baby,” Carretto said. “He was one of
the most sincere, honest, nice kids that you’ll ever meet up with.
Always a smile on his face and he always had a great positive attitude.
He always took the time with the younger kids, he took them under his
wing so to speak. In fact, he treated my little girls like gold.
They’re as devastated as anybody right now ... You can’t say enough
good things about him. A?blue-chip kid who will be missed by everybody.”</p>
Gene Mastin, HHS?athletic director and head varsity football coach,
spoke to the same degree of the soldier, neighbor, friend and family
member that remains on so many minds.</p>
“They don’t come any better,” Mastin said. “If Hornell ever had a
favorite son it was probably Zach Smith. He was universally liked.
Everything about him was good,” he said. “Devastating. You deal with so
many great kids and Zach was right at the top of the list. I can’t
imagine ... he was just everything that was good about any kid growing
up today. He was just one of the best, most well-respected kids we’ve
had in our school.”</p>
Mastin said the pair formed a close bond over the years without effort.</p>
“I?don’t know but we did,”?Mastin said. “He was just one of those
kids that was so easy to like. And such a hard worker. He called me
every week of every game, throughout the playoffs and things like that
... You get close with people, and this was somebody I was going to be
close with for the rest of our lives. A great kid and a great family.
One of those things that you really grapple to find words for. Just
devastating.”</p>
The character of Zachary Smith, who would have been 20 on April 2,
according to his grandparents, was even felt by those who briefly knew
him.</p>
Jerry McAneny, a BOCES?physical education teacher, did not teach
Smith, but has a son who graduated in his class and spoke to Smith on
several occasions.</p>
“I knew him through school. He was just a great kid. He was a
gentleman, a lot of fun to be around, and always respectful,” he said.
“When he came back after joining the Marines he came into school with
his uniform and talked to me. There was a fire drill and we went
outside in the front lawn and he told me how he was doing and how proud
he is to be serving the country.”</p>
Others found great pleasure getting to know him better.</p>
“He was always smiling, always able to joke, always respectful and
never a problem. He was your all-American kid. He was the type of kid
that if you’re a parent and you had a son you’d want your son to grow
up and be just like him,” said Brian Dyring, a HHS?physical education
teacher who instructed Smith. “He was without a doubt the greatest kid
to walk the hallways at Hornell High School.”</p>
Michael Brewer is a manager at the Hornell Wegmans and worked with
Smith, who was a cashier and handled various other responsibilities in
the couple of years he worked there.</p>
“The best way to describe him was an all-around likeable kid. He
touched everyone with his humor ... He was a great kid. It was that
simple. He was great to be around and he always lifted everyone’s
spirits,” said Brewer.</p>
Sid Smith said his grandson was a proud Marine and was just
beginning his patrols. Alice Smith noted that the community has been
respectful and there has been an “outpouring of love from our friends
and family.”</p>
Congressman Eric Massa, D-Corning, met with the family Sunday, and
this morning issued the following statement: “Like all members of this
community, I am saddened by the sacrifice of Lance Corporal Zach Smith
and my heart goes out to his entire family. I will do everything in my
power to help the entire Smith family through this terrible tragedy and
I ask everyone to keep the Smiths in their prayers.”</p>
According to the Associated Press, the two deaths brought to at
least 22 the number of American service members killed so far this
month — compared with only 14 for the whole of January last year. A
mild winter has brought no respite to the fighting, which traditionally
drops off during the cold months.</p>
The south of Afghanistan is the Taliban heartland and is expected to
be a major focus of fighting as the U.S. and NATO allies send 37,000
additional troops to turn the tide of the war.</p>
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world
— a legacy from decades of Soviet occupation and subsequent civil wars.
Tens of thousands of mines and unexploded bombs still pepper the rugged
country as violence has slowed efforts to clear them.
Includes reporting by Derrick Balinsky and The Associated Press.</p>
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