Family thanks Allendale County for Sgt. O.J. Smith memorial road

The family of Sgt. Orenthial J. “O.J.” Smith thanked Allendale County leaders, law enforcement, relatives and neighbors for helping turn Moody Road in Martin into a public tribute to his life. In the family’s letter, the road naming was described as more than a civic gesture: it was a lasting reminder of Smith’s service, sacrifice and impact on Allendale County.

South Carolina lawmakers asked that Moody Road, from Millet Road to Patterson Mill Drive, be renamed Sgt. Orenthial J. “O.J.” Smith Memorial Road and marked with signs. The resolution tied to the honor says Smith was born on Sept. 20, 1981, was the son of Ms. Irateen Smith, attended public schools in Allendale County and graduated from Allendale-Fairfax High School in 1999.

The legislative record also traces Smith’s ties to St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church, where he joined at an early age and served as an usher, and sometimes filled in as superintendent and church secretary when those posts were open. Military records identify him as Army Spc. Orenthial J. Smith, 21, assigned to Company A, 123rd Main Support Battalion in Dexheim, Germany.

Smith was killed on June 22, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq, while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Accounts say his convoy was ambushed by small-arms fire, and multiple memorial records say he was promoted to sergeant on the day he died. A 2003 report said he joined the Army in June 1999, shortly after graduating from Allendale-Fairfax High School.

The family’s letter thanked the Allendale County Council, the Martin Brotherhood Association, Rep. Lonnie Hosey, Sheriff Jamie Freeman, the Allendale County Sheriff’s Department, Lauren, relatives, friends and other community members who helped make the dedication possible. For a county that still marks its losses by name and place, the road now stands as a daily reminder of a local son whose service reached far beyond Allendale.

Smith’s funeral services were held at Union Missionary Baptist Church in Barnwell, with military honors at St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Millette. More than two decades later, the memorial road gives his family, church and community a permanent place to remember a soldier whose life was cut short in Iraq but whose name now sits on a road at home.