[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/5-bronze-stars-dies-in-3-car-crash\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/5-bronze-stars-dies-in-3-car-crash\/","headline":"5 Bronze Stars \/ Dies in 3 Car Crash","name":"5 Bronze Stars \/ Dies in 3 Car Crash","description":"Who in the world earns 5 Bronze Stars, a Purple Hart and two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry?\u00a0My military school mentor\u2014Master Sargent James Smith. 1980\u2026 Mount St. Helen erupts showering Portland with ash. Meanwhile, I was 17-year-old high school junior attending military school. I marched, saluted and fired howitzers for four years as a cadet at...","datePublished":"2014-07-01","dateModified":"2024-05-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/author\/rizklaw\/#Person","name":"Rizk Law","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/author\/rizklaw\/","identifier":9,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10e23ce5e6c4dadb4589cd8edf2c3f59ac356a6e876c3656917777913d9c3bc1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10e23ce5e6c4dadb4589cd8edf2c3f59ac356a6e876c3656917777913d9c3bc1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Rizk Law","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rizk-law-logo-footer.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rizk-law-logo-footer.jpg","width":278,"height":65}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Richard-Rizk-headshot.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Richard-Rizk-headshot.jpg","width":383,"height":427},"url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/5-bronze-stars-dies-in-3-car-crash\/","about":["Auto Accident"],"wordCount":211,"articleBody":"Who in the world earns 5 Bronze Stars, a Purple Hart and two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry?\u00a0My military school mentor\u2014Master Sargent James Smith.1980\u2026 Mount St. Helen erupts showering Portland with ash. Meanwhile, I was 17-year-old high school junior attending military school. I marched, saluted and fired howitzers for four years as a cadet at Culver Military of northern Indiana.One fine afternoon, another cadet mistook me for a plebe\u2014a first year military student without stature or any rights. With a smirk and fist clenched, I listened \u201cpatiently\u201d absorbing slurs and profanity laced insults. Around the corner, Sargent Smith heard everything.Sargent Smith casually revealed himself.\u00a0\u201cYou are lucky you didn\u2019t knock your teeth out\u201d\u00a0Sgt. Smith warned the offending cadet, shook his head and walked off.Decades later, Sgt. Smith wandered in the back door of my class reunion celebration. At first, no one noticed. \u201cHey look\u2026 It is Sgt. Smith!\u201d A nanosecond later, the crowd erupted into a frenzied standing ovation. Shocked and visibly humbled, water welled above the war hero\u2019s lower lids.This past year, Master Sargent James Smith was killed in a\u00a0multi-car collision. Rest in peace. You are not forgotten. You are missed. You are a war hero and you were my friend."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Bronze Stars \/ Dies in 3 Car Crash","item":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/5-bronze-stars-dies-in-3-car-crash\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]