A Lion among Men

U.S. Marine honored by martial artists during Veterans Month

By Chris Carter

South Carolina native W. Thomas Smith Jr., a veteran Marine Infantry leader and internationally recognized counterterrorism expert was honored by several S.C.-based martial artists, black belts all, at Columbia’s Blue Marlin Restaurant, Friday Nov. 22. The recognition included the awarding of a kempo blood Samurai sword presented by Bruce Brutschy, a 10th-degree black belt and S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee.

A portion of Brutschy’s remarks follow:

Periodically those of us in the martial arts community recognize those outside of our community but who are directly or indirectly connected in some way to the culture and in the spirit of who we are as martial artists. Considering this, months ago we determined that we wanted to recognize a man who – though serving on the board of directors of the South Carolina Black Belt Hall of Fame – is himself not a martial artist though he is an honorary black belt.

I’m speaking now of my friend of many years Colonel W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Tom is a veritable lion among men in my estimation, and for tangible reasons which I will explain momentarily …

Tom is a former Marine Infantry leader. He was also a counterterrorism instructor, a SWAT team officer in the nuclear industry (twice-designated HONORMAN), and he’s a retired S.C. Military Department colonel where he founded and directed the state’s first-ever Counterterrorism Task Force.

PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING

The author of several books and literally thousands of magazine and newspaper articles, Tom is a New York Times bestselling editor, an internationally acclaimed military technical consultant, and veteran war correspondent, who has covered the war Bosnia and Croatia from the frontlines, was embedded with Israeli paratroopers during armed clashes with the PLO, and traveled twice in Iraq during the height of the war from Fallujah to Ramadi to the extremely dangerous Iraqi-Syrian border.

Tom’s uniformed service began in the Marines as a rifleman serving as a special-weapons security and counterterrorism instructor – personally training (and developing the training for) Marines and sailors ashore and aboard ship.

Following sea duty, Tom shipped to MARINE INFANTRY (his primary MOS being “Scout Rifleman” or “Rifle Scout”) where he served as a rifle squad leader with the elite 5th Marine Regiment: 5th Marines being the most decorated regiment in the entire Marine Corps.

In addition to boot camp at Parris Island, Tom attended the USMC School of Infantry, Camp Pendelton, CA; U.S. Army Airborne School – Fort Benning, Georgia; mountain warfare school in the High Sierras; amphibious raid school at Coronado, CA; Sea School San Diego, CA; and he was further trained in close-quarters-combat by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service at the Naval Amphibious base in Little Creek, VA.

DEPLOYMENTS, AWARDS, AND CIVILIAN SERVICE TO NATIONAL DEFENSE

I won’t get into his overseas deployment evolutions and his many awards, honors, and military decorations over the years, but I want to mention that he’s been awarded multiple times for counterterrorism activities and honored on four separate occasions by four different recipients of the Medal of Honor. Aside from his military decorations and other military and civilian awards, Tom is a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, S.C.’s highest award.

As a writer and military analyst, Tom has provided official first-person analysis to numerous departments, agencies, commands, and media services including international media and the U.S. Special Operations Command (directly requested by USSOCOM) over the years.

While in Lebanon, for instance, the information he gathered on Hezbollah and provided to the U.S. Defense Department was deemed invaluable to USSOCOM’s Shia Extremism Team and ultimately aided U.S. Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs operating in the region.

There’s so much more we haven’t even touched on …

Back home, Tom served as a member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the S.C. Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee.

Tom serves on the executive leadership team of the S.C. Floodwater Commission’s National Security Task Force. He’s also is a special deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and has been employed there in varying capacities, primarily public information, since 2016.

BATTLING BACK FROM STROKE

Earlier this year Tom suffered a major stroke (several simultaneous strokes in fact) and was hospitalized. But he has since fought back, tenaciously I might add, and within days of his having been released from the hospital in May, he was driving and working. And though still struggling with fatigue and other physical and mental deficits, within two weeks of his having been released from the hospital, he was back in the gym where he continues to work-out AT LEAST three days a week, and – though not yet where he was prior to the stroke – he is already bench-pressing 225 for reps with a max of 250 for two reps. THAT’S LITERALLY NFL COMBINE STRENGTH and from a 65-year-old stroke survivor.

Beyond that, over the summer and early fall, Tom has participated in several special operations, including dangerous direct-action raids and crime-suppression missions against armed gangs while participating with the Midlands Gang Task Force.

Tom loves the Lord. Tom’s faith is unassailable. He is a “child of God,” he says. And He fully credits his ongoing recovery and life success so far to God’s love, God’s omnipotent strength, His grace, and His divine mercy.

It is for these reasons and so many others too numerous to list – and during this VETERANS MONTH 2024 – that I have the honor of presenting my close, ever loyal, doggedly persistent friend Col. W. Thomas Smith Jr. this beautiful samurai sword.

Tom, I am honored to make this presentation my friend.

CONCLUSION

Remarks by Carter –

The presentation by Brutschy was attended by Col. (Ret.) Steve Vitali, U.S. Marine Corps; and Mr. Bill McLeod. Like Brutschy and Vitali, McLeod is a ranking black belt and an accomplished Black Belt tournament fighter. Other attendees included Smith’s friends and family.

 

– Chris Carter is a former semi-pro football player and U.S. Air Force veteran whose articles have appeared in Ops Lens, Human Events, Canada Free Press, Deutsche Welle, and NavySEALs.com among other publications.