Daniel Smith

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries. A separate page with a list of all these entries, plus Character Profiles and Book Synopses will appear on the right hand side of the page in coming weeks, detailing the people, places and things of the Stone Soldiers universe.

Character Profile: Daniel Smith

(A Stone Soldiers Encyclopedia Entry)

Lt. Commander Daniel Smith made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, and his men, in 2008, when he dove onto a grenade thrown into his sniper nest. While the blast killed Smith, he soon learned it was not the end of his military career. Resurrected in the Fountain of Youth, Smith was recruited into Detachment 1039 to serve as the first Stone Soldier (Stone Soldiers: Catching Fire).

At first reluctant to believe there really was a hidden, dark world full of supernatural threats to America and all of mankind, Smith has readily adapted to his new, petrified role. In 2013, he died for his country again—killed by the prehistoric shapeshifting giant Ketzkahtel (Mythical). But once more, Smith was resurrected and petrified, and now helps train other Stone Soldiers, leading them against the forces of darkness whenever and wherever needed.

Smith was given the code-name ATLAS by Dr. William King, signifying the importance of his role as the first field-tested stone soldier: his success enabled the program to continue and led to the creation of more petrified soldiers.

Only thirty three years old at the time of his first death, Smith shares a Western upbringing with his commander, Colonel Mark Kenslir. Of African-American ancestry, the quiet, no-nonsense SEAL looks past the origin and cultural beliefs of those he meets, focusing instead on the kind of person they are, or could be. He believes in hard training and discipline to complete his missions and stands by military tradition and rituals, and is quick to commend those he serves alongside. A talented artist, Smith has even designed a challenge coin for the Detachment, which he has begun to hand out to those members of the unit who die in combat but return to duty.

As a stone soldier, Smith is impervious to most physical injury. His petrified body does not need food, water or even air. And while he no longer needs to physically train, his body being locked in the same state it was when he was petrified, Smith falls back to his many years of long distance running and regularly goes through the motions of exercise. Smith rarely complains about anything, striving to lead by example. Of all the Stone Soldiers, Daniel Smith appears to have adjusted to his new petrified state of being better than anyone else.

As of 2014, Smith has been promoted to a position commanding the Bravo team of Stone Soldiers, to be stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, for Pacific Theater deployments.