Sean Smith (diplomat)

For other uses, see Sean Smith (disambiguation).

Sean Patrick Smith (January 30, 1978^[1] – September 11, 2012) was an American diplomat ^{[citation needed]} and information management officer with the United States Foreign Service who was killed during the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.^[3]

Sean Smith
Born	(1978-01-30)January 30, 1978[1] San Diego, California, US
Died	September 11, 2012(2012-09-11) (aged 34) Benghazi, Libya
Cause of death	Assassinated during 2012 Benghazi attack
Occupation	Information Management Officer
Years active	2002–2012
Employer	United States Foreign Service
Known for	Victim of the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi Moderator of Something Awful Forums[2] Former member of the Council of Stellar Management in the MMO Eve Online
Spouse	Heather Smith
Children	2
Military career
Branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1995–2002
Rank	Staff Sergeant

Life and work

Smith was an only child and grew up in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California. He graduated from Mission Bay High School in 1995, enlisted in the United States Air Force 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, Netherlands, with his wife, Heather, and children, Samantha and Nathan.^[4][5]

Smith was a leading player and member of the Council of Stellar Management in the Eve Online gaming community (as "Vile Rat") and was a moderator on the Something Awful forums (as "Vilerat").^[6][7][8]

Death and legacy

Main article: 2012 Benghazi attack

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 on May 3, 2013.^[9] On the day of his death, Smith typed a message to the director of his Eve Online gaming corporation that read, "Assuming we don't die tonight. We saw one of our 'police' that guard the compound taking pictures."^[5]

Spontaneous reactions from the Eve Online player base included a mass renaming of outposts throughout its universe.^[10] The game's Council of Stellar Management published a tribute to Smith two days after his death.^[11] Zack Parsons on the Something Awful forums organized a benefit for Smith's family, raising US$127,000.^[9][12]

In the movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, which dramatizes the events of the Benghazi attack, Smith was played by actor Christopher Dingli.^[13]

See also

• Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) – Salafist jihadist group in Libya
• First Libyan Civil War – 2011 armed conflictPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets