Kevin Joseph Smith

West Point, 2002

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Timothy Lynch on December 18, 2005:

I met KJ on my initial visit to West Point and from that point on we became the closest of friends. As a soccer player and a person, he projected such a positive, strong, honest, competitive and confident attitude that I couldn?t help but gravitate toward him. KJ was like a big brother to me. We shared boyhood dreams of playing soccer at the highest levels and hoped that one day we would reunite to coach together (he would take the goalies and I would take the field players). He watched over me my freshmen and sophomore years at school. When I was struggling academically and the soccer season was falling apart, he was there to support me. Although he should have graduated in 2001, he ended up graduating in December of 2002, which, for me, was a blessing in disguise because I wouldn?t have made it through my senior season/year without him there to support me. KJ was a person who overcame an enormous amount of obstacles to get into West Point, make it through West Point, and, finally, graduate from West Point. He made the impossible seem possible through his unmatchable work ethic and is (and will continue to be) a true inspiration to all who knew him. He sent me an email on 30 Nov 05 asking me how I was doing and what I was up to. I replied with my usual banter unaware that he would be taken from me and everyone else who loved him days later. I never got a chance to tell him goodbye and express to him how much he meant to me.

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