The "Amish Hero" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Except for the fact that the Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, lost one of their heroes.  People all over the world may recall that in 2006 a mentally disturbed man entered a small Amish schoolhouse at Nickel Mines in Bart Township and shot ten young school girls, killing five of them before turning the gun on himself as first responders began to break through the door of the school.  The one-room Amish schoolhouse was soon dismantled and a new one built several hundred yards away.  But, the five young girls who lost their lives were remembered shortly afterwards when an Amish man and his hired helper planted five pear trees at the site of the former schoolhouse.  Today they are much taller and are a fitting remembrance to the lives lost that day.  

Trooper Jonathan A. Smith, Amish hero.
Pennsylvania State Police photograph.

But, another piece of the story that fateful day just died recently.  Trooper Jonathan A. Smith, 47 year old Pennsylvania State Trooper, died of pancreatic cancer June 12th at his home in nearby York County, PA.  It seems that Trooper Smith was among the first who entered the school, using his shield to smash one of the windows of the school and once inside he began to carry the wounded girls outside.  For his actions he, along with nine of his fellow Troopers, were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor that can be achieved in the Pennsylvania State Police.  Not only was he a hero that day, but he continued to return to the school to check on the rest of the girls.  He would get down on his knees and give hugs to all the girls.  He, along with other troopers, returned often to try and ease the pain the others felt.  He could be seen in his uniform playing baseball outside the new school with the kids and he also would stop and visit some of the other Amish families at their farms.  Trooper Smith had two girls, ages 8 and 11 at the time of the shootings, that became good friends with two of the girls who where wounded that day.   During the Christmas season the surviving girls and their families would bake cookies and deliver them to the troopers at their barracks.  Some of the troopers were invited to Amish weddings when two of the wounded girls recently married.  Now, the Amish community is mourning the loss of their hero, Trooper Smith, who helped heal the wounds from that terrible day in 2006.  Trooper Smith will always be remembered in the hearts of all who knew him, especially in the Amish community of Lancaster County.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.