Army: Ohio Soldier Made Up Story Of Daughter's Iraq Service

[OhioChick]

POSTED: 11:03 am EDT October 14, 2006

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- An Ohio soldier who claimed she joined the Army after her daughter was hurt in Iraq made up the story, the Army confirmed Friday.

A spokesman said the military discovered that Pfc. Cindra Smith's daughter had never been in the service, as Smith first publicly claimed in a story that appeared in a newspaper at Redstone Arsenal, a base in north Alabama.

That story led to a piece in The Huntsville Times, and the Times story was distributed by The Associated Press to newspapers across Alabama and Ohio.

Smith, of Xenia, Ohio, 15 miles east of Dayton, was 39 when stories appeared earlier this year, and fellow soldiers called her "Grandma" because of her age. She claimed she wanted to be trained to disarm bombs in Iraq like one that seriously injured her daughter.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/10076920/detail.html

[Miss Chybil]

1. I hope they get this nut job out of the Army before she hurts somebody.

Including herself.

[OhioChick]

2. Amazing..........

Did she think that no one would find out??

[leesa]

5. Yikes. So now she's had explosives training and is on the loose?

People who lie like this intrigue me. I knew someone at work who made up a son for years. Talked about him like he was real, school, soccer, etc...never existed. She made him up to get out of meetings.

[MADem]

10. She made him up to get out of meetings

Damn.....I've heard of excuses, but that's a hoot!

[leesa]

14. I'm sure it went deeper than that, but that was her "excuse". We didn't

know for 8 years. He was always at a friends house, she didn't have his picture, they couldn't come to family gatherings, etc. It was freaky. We would see her daughter from time to time.

[bahrbearian]

12. I've been thinking about making up a family,, You get to go home

early , you don't have to work nights, excuse for being late or sick, the people I work with use their kids for an excuse, and then I have to cover for them.

[Miss Chybil]

17. It takes a village to raise a child. nt

[bahrbearian]

18. I'm not part of a village,,I hunt with my pack. Really.

My village got paved over and became a Casino.

[SoCalDem]

16. I've heard of imaginary "friends", but imaginary CHILDREN??

That's a weird one for sure..

[IndianaGreen]

11. Let her disarm bombs

It is Gawd's will if she becomes meat on the trees!

[Truthiness Inspector]

3. What a strange story

I wonder what made her think the lie wouldn't be easily detected? She sounds like a pathological liar.

[Ravy]

4. Yes. She can serve better in the administration. (n/t)

[papau]

6. or in the media n/t

n/t

[twilight_sailing]

7. last line of the article

"Roake said Smith has been placed on 'hold' status while the military determines whether to let her continue the explosives training."

I'm with you, Miss Chybil.

This lady, Pfc. Cindra Smith, is not stable enough to be a dependable soldier.
No how, no way.

[pinerow]

8. Journalism 101...check the facts behind the story...get

independent confirmation...oh wait...MSM doesn't do that sort of stuff...as Emily Litella used to say..."Never Mind"...sheesh!!!

[sandnsea]

20. It's really incredible

You'd think they'd have wanted a statement from the daughter or at least verified the daughter's service.

Today they were going on and on about the Reid scandal, and every one of them would turn around and repeat the truth of what happened. So the staff of MSNBC knew the truth, had the facts in their hands. They just didn't have enough integrity to pass on a salacious story. Maybe not checking facts is their plan.

[Rose Siding]

9. This was a big deal. All the RWers were comparing her to Cindy Sheehan

The Army Times article is gone, but her pic is still there.

http://www4.army.mil/armyimages/armyimage.php?photo=10894


"by Sgt. Eliamar Trapp
July 10, 2006
Pfc. Cindra Smith of C Company clears her weapon before entering the barracks after physical training. She joined the Army to become an EOD specialist after her daughter was injured in Iraq during an IED attack."

It's sad -she must be a very troubled woman to have gone into such detail in her fabrications. There are snips from the orig piece on a few RW sites. Here's one, with comments from the blogger-

Meet Pfc. Cindra Smith
By Eric

In light of all the coverage Cindy Sheehan has received since the beginning of her undertaking against everything GWOT, I’d like you meet 40 year old Pfc Cindra Smith, who recently enlisted (once the Army raised its age limit for enlistees) after her daughter got injured by an IED in Iraq:

Pvt. Tracy Branton, Smith’s oldest daughter, was a heavy wheel mechanic on a convoy in Iraq when it was hit by IEDs. When Branton and her fellow soldiers got out of the vehicles to inspect the area, she was shot in the back. Now 21, Branton is 70 percent disabled and has a slight paralysis because of the injuries caused by the shooting.
“I remember being angry,” Smith said. “As parents, we always try and look for someone to blame. But knowing that she was doing something she believed in and wanted to do helped me get over that.”

After Branton was injured, Smith’s 20-year-old son, James Pritchard, decided to join the Army to become an infantryman. He attended basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga., and is serving in Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division.

When the Army raised its acceptance age from 35 to 40 and then to 42, Smith made a life-changing move. Two weeks away from her 40th birthday, she is now known as Pfc. Cindra Smith, a soldier in C Company, 832nd Ordnance Battalion, 59th Ordnance Brigade, where she is attending AIT to become an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

“If I can save another parent from getting the same phone call I did, then I would have done everything I came in to do,” Smith said.

I usually find stories like this after surfing a handful of mainstream media outlets. Anyone surprised that I never once stumbled across this inspirational article? Instead, a Greensickle reader emailed me this story from Defenselink. Apparently, I need to browse other media outlets more frequently…


Posted July 19, 2006 10:24 PM Eric
http://greensickle.com/2006/07/meet_pfc_cindra_smith.html

[bamademo]

13. I live in Huntsville and I work on that Army Base

I did not know about this story until I read it here. Wow! I'll have to find out more.

[Nolo_Contendre]

15. Looks like she told a little white lie that snowballed into an avalanche

At least she didn't try to gain financial advantage off of her lie, unlike Florida police officer Vincent Balestrieri: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbcsouth/content/local_news/epaper/2006/09/21/s1a_DBCOP_0921.html

[Anakin Skywalker]

19. Lying to GET IN to the service? That's new!

Usually people lie to GET OUT!