2nd Lt. Brian Smith , 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Division, July 2, 2004

When Lt. Brian Smith was shot dead by a sniper, the modern Army wasn't alone in losing a budding officer. So did the medieval army.

Even before joining the Army in 2003, Smith had been a member of the Society For Creative Anachronicm, As Friedrich von Konigsburg, he role-played in SCA events in numerous locations. He originally wanted to be an attorney, got his degree and worked in labor and employment law. But he decided to join the Army in June 2003 because he had a lifetime fascination for tanks, his mother said.

Once in Iraq, Smith was dedicated to helping teach others how tanks operated, said Lt. Jim Meeks, who served with him in Iraq. "He led by example, not just by telling everyone what to do," Meeks said.

Smith , 30, of McKinney, Texas, was killed by a sniper on July 2 in Habbaniyah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. He was based at Fort Riley.

Smith received an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas in 1991 and later attended Baylor Law School. He started a practice in McKinney, then moved to Austin.

"The profession has lost somebody I don't think it will be able to replace," said Alicia Wilde, an attorney who worked with Smith . "He was one of the most brilliant young men I ever met."

His survivors include his wife, Kathleen Carroll- Smith .