When is a smile not a smile? When a bullet makes its way into your brain and renders you possibly permanently disabled.

So lives Eric Shei, 23, who left a tour of duty in Iraq wounded after an enemy attack, his joy and his sorrow both expressed by what appears to be a wide smile. All that separated the two last Saturday is the piercing sobs and the dripping tears he uttered when he cried.

Surrounded by about a hundred people, many of them in uniform, many more carrying or wearing an American flag, all there to honor the wounded soldier, Shei was free with his emotions. But his smile was reserved only for his brothers in Army dress greens, telling stories of war and bravery in Iraq. His sobs emerged only when his brother Devin told those gathered of his brother's struggles and the family that pulled together to make him whole.

Shei was stationed in Mozul in the heat of battle as part of Task Force Freedom.

"Things were about as bad as they could get," said Lt. Com. Pantano, Shei's commanding officer.

Shei was a gunner on a Humvee - one of the best, Pantano boasted - driving down roads at up to 50 mph, facing sensory overload and making decisions that turn a man into a hero or a villain.

"Eric was a hero," Pantano said.

In an incident about which those in uniform could say little, Eric was hit. His friends and fellow soldiers moved quickly, saving his life. Another soldier told how it was only seven minutes after Shei was injured that he was receiving treatment.

Last month, Shei and his family moved from Taos to Rio Rancho so he could be closer to the VA Hospital. In tribute to his service, the New Mexico Honor Guard installed a flag pole so the symbol for which he fought could fly outside his home. Others were working to landscape the property.

The brief ceremony was more of a testimonial to Shei, his bravery and the love of his family. Each speaker took a brief moment to salute Shei, give him a hug or shake his clenched, unmoving hands. As a final tribute, Pantano promoted Shei to the rank of sergeant.

Shei's own words were few and spoken only through a computer.

"This flags stands for freedom," his computer said of the banner now waving in his yard. "It will make me happy to see the flag outside my house every day."

While the flag lifts Shei's spirits, his mother wants to see her son's full recovery.

Christine Shei, her unending smile drooped slightly at the corners, hinting at a flood of tears being held back, promised her son a day "where you stand and talk yourself."

Her hopes were then relayed to God by the military chaplain: "I ask that the prayer of his mother be heard, that he stand on his own two feet and speak with his own voice."