Tahoe soldier memorialized in Arlington National Cemetery

Though his ashes were laid to rest in the depths of Lake Tahoe, it was Arlington National Cemetery where Timmy Smith told his father he wanted his memory to live on.

He's now a part of something much bigger, family members say. Sgt. Timothy "Timmy" Smith, is now memorialized along with the tens of thousands of soldiers at the national military cemetery in Virginia.

Sgt. Smith was eulogized among 35 family and friends there on Oct. 17. The 2001 graduate of South Tahoe High School, who would have turned 26 last month, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb on April 7, 2008. He was the first native South Lake Tahoe casualty of the war.

In the months after his death, the Smith family had planned for a military funeral, and with the help of donations by the community, enough money was raised, including four airplane tickets for Smith's mother, Patty, father Mike, brother Tommy and sister Jackie.

The military funeral included a 21-gun salute, followed by the immortalized "Taps" and a flag presentation to Tim Smith's siblings, Jackie and Tommy Smith. Both parents had received American flags by the Army in April during funeral services at South Lake Tahoe.

Smith's memorial at Arlington National Cemetery is located in section K, row 125. It is a white granite stone which says: "In memory of Timothy M. Smith,

Sgt. U.S. Army, Sept. 20, 1982, April 7, 2008; Bronze Star, Purple Heart; Operation Iraqi Freedom."

"Timmy would have been happy with the spot," his mother Patty Smith, said Saturday. "It is on a hillside, the sun shines through it and there's a nice tree there. It's an ideal place because I know he would have seen it as a place for him to snowboard down the slope."

Each year, likely on April 7, the family made a pact to return to Arlington to remember and honor Timmy. The two funerals have given the family a sense of closure, though, both parents pause at the thought of Smith's passing as "closure."

His memory lives on in countless photographs and conversations among family, friends and those who continue to offer sympathy and support.

"He's always here, right by me looking over my shoulder. I write to him in my journal every night," his mother said.

Timmy's father, Mike Smith, recalls the day his son said he wanted his final resting place to be at the national cemetery. At the time he enlisted " out of response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks " Mike knew there was always the possibility his son would die at war. The conversation was brief but candid and matter-of-fact, Mike said.

He told me if anything happened, he wanted to be at Arlington," Smith said. "We told our chaplain this, and they made it happen."

The chaplain was Sgt. Major John Hefner. He serves as the Nevada Army National Guard casualty officer. He informed the family that it was only recently that a military clause had been lifted regarding burial services at the cemetery. Before the change, soldiers who were cremated were not allowed to have headstones. Tim Smith's ashes were spread in Lake Tahoe.

The April 18 funeral and procession at South Lake Tahoe was attended by hundreds, along with thousands of locals lining the streets to pay their respects. The ceremony also brought a sense of duty and brotherhood with it as there was a pact made between Timmy and Sgt. Brandon Lord, Smith's brother in arms. Each had committed to each other that if either one should die, they would return home with the body and be with family members.

Lord maintained the commitment and has since been in contact with the family, either by phone or e-mail almost daily. Lord was unable to attend the Arlington ceremony. He has since been redeployed to Iraq, the family said.

The ceremony was as emotional as it was official, family members said. The 21-gun salute and "Taps" brought Timmy's brother Tommy and sister Jackie a sense that Timmy died doing what he believed in. And while feelings about the war in Iraq remain strongly opposed to the occupation among the family, there is a sense of pride that comes with it.

The ceremony was something "you'd see in the movies, only you can't really describe it or give it justice until you're there," said Jackie Smith. "When you look at all the tombstones along the hills and all the trees, there's honor there."

Attending the services were Barbara Smith, Timmy's grandmother, of Massachusetts and his grandfather John Keefe. What struck both about Arlington National Cemetery are all the trees. Timmy had an affinity for trees. Growing up he would visit his grandmother in Westborough, Mass., and whenever she couldn't find him, all she had to do was look up.

"It was an ideal place that Timmy would have approved of," Barbara Smith said.

For Tommy Smith, Timmy's younger brother, the experience at Arlington was a tribute that brings some closure, though, it doesn't seem quite real.

"My brother is gone. There hasn't been a day that goes by that I don't think of him. It still remains fresh, as though it happened yesterday but it's been (more than) six months," Tommy Smith said. "I never realized how time went by so fast. It's made me realize that we have to take advantage of every day and cherish it and the time we have together because it can be taken away from us."

The Smith family offers thanks to those who made the Arlington trip possible

The family would like to thank P.J. DeGross of the group Web of Support who

planned the fundraisers and collected donations; Jan Brase (Gibbons), Verita

Protho (Heller) who held a fundraiser at DoppleGangers in Carson City, and

let the family use their restaurant; numerous merchants from South Lake

Tahoe, Stateline, Carson City and Reno; Rick Wharton for helping with plane

tickets, the anonymous donor who gave three airplane tickets; Brothers Bar

and Grill for taking donations.

The family thanks the support of Barton Memorial Hospital employees and

patient; Mike and Susan Elfisch, Ben and Debbie Rodgers whose son, Josh, who

was killed a year ago in Afghanistan; Steve from Operation Cookie Jar who

helped in getting us flag bags to bring the family flags home from

Arlington; many close friends, so many who know who they are: Erin Jamison,

for getting the family hotel rooms at a extremely low price, Holly in

Arlington helping the family with flower arrangements. Sgt. Major John

Hefner who has supported the family every day; Lisa Miller, Stu Miller's

mother (who Tim Smith was with since boot camp) and his fiancee Meghan, who

helped organize the family's first night in Arlington. Everyone in

Arlington National Cemetery who arranged the ceremony. Amber and Nick, who

have been with the family every day. And all the soldiers of the 10th

Mountain Division,

"We love you so much for watching Timmy's back, and loving him as you did,"

said Patty Smith.