Sean Patrick Smith (January 30, 1978 – September 11, 2012) was an American diplomat and information management officer with the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...

who was killed during the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Life and work

Smith was an only child and grew up in the Clairemont neighborhood of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, California. He graduated from

Mission Bay High School Mission Bay High School (MBHS), is a public high school located in the San Diego, California community of Pacific Beach. It is a magnet school with emphasis on Academic Studies. In Fall 2006, Mission Bay introduced International Baccalaureate c ...

in 1995, enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

in July 1995 and served for six years. He was a ground radio maintenance (2E1X3) specialist and was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2000. He completed his military service in 2002. As a Foreign Service employee, he lived in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, Netherlands, with his wife, Heather, and children, Samantha and Nathan. Smith was a leading player and member of the Council of Stellar Management in the ''

Eve Online ''Eve Online'' (stylised ''EVE Online'') is a space-based, persistent world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by CCP Games. Players of ''Eve Online'' can participate in a number of in-game profes ...

'' gaming community (under the username "Vile rat") and was a moderator on the

Something Awful ''Something Awful'' (SA) is an American comedy website hosting content including blog entries, Internet forum, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard Kyanka, Richard "Lowtax" K ...

forums (username "Vilerat").

Death and legacy

Smith was one of four Americans killed in the Benghazi attack. He was posthumously awarded the U.S. Department of State's

Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service The Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented to employees of State, USAID, and civilian contractors assigned to diplomatic and consular facilities for events that lead to death ...

on May 3, 2013. On the day of his death, Smith typed a message to the director of his

gaming corporation that read, "Assuming we don't die tonight. We saw one of our 'police' that guard the compound taking pictures." Spontaneous reactions from the ''Eve Online'' player base included a mass renaming of outposts throughout its universe. The game's Council of Stellar Management published a tribute to Smith two days after his death. Zack Parsons on the Something Awful forums organized a benefit for Smith's family, raising . The movie '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'' was filmed in honor of those who died in the attack. Smith was played by actor Christopher Dingli.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sean 1978 births 2012 deaths American people murdered abroad People murdered in Libya United States Air Force airmen United States Department of State officials United States Foreign Service personnel 2012 murders in Libya

Life and work

Death and legacy

See also

References