Moments before he took off in a Black Hawk helicopter, Capt. Benedict J. Smith wrote in an e-mail to his family that he was glad his day's assignment required him to fly. "That will be good for me to get out of the office for a day," he wrote.
"He once told mom that he knew he could be killed but that, if he died in the helicopter, he would be happy," said Mary Sims, his sister.
Smith, 29, a native of Monroe City, Mo., died Nov. 7, 2003, when the helicopter crashed near Tikrit, Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Campbell.
Smith married his wife, Maggie, also a military pilot serving in Iraq, in December 2002. "He and his wife tried to see each other as often as possible while serving in Iraq," Sims said. "His faith was important to him; that has helped him during his time over there."
Smith joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1993. He later attended West Point and flight school. "Ben has always been one to go for a challenge," Sims said.
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