Wednesday, March 21, 2001

By Jeremy Kirk
Seoul bureau chief

CAMP ESSAYONS, South Korea — Staff Sgt. Kwang Lim says he doesn’t feel like a hero.

But his actions — along with another soldier’s — saved a civilian’s life in August after a car accident.

On Friday, Lim received the Soldier’s Medal, the highest peacetime award given to soldiers who risk their lives. Lim, 40, is a platoon sergeant with the 102nd Military Intelligence Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division.

Lim and Sgt. Lawrence R. Hanson Jr., also with the 2ID, helped pull Dominic Schipano from his burning car after it crashed into a telephone pole at Fort Ord, Calif. Schipano was unconscious, and grass near the car had caught on fire.

"I was worried it (the car) was going to explode soon," Lim said. "He (Schipano) didn’t breathe so I started chest compressions. I was worried about him dying in front of me."

Power lines were on the ground, and the soldiers moved Schipano away from the smoking vehicle. They gave Schipano chest compressions that kept him alive until emergency personnel arrived.

"Anyone could have done it," Lim said. "I don’t feel I’m a hero, but most people think that way."

Hanson received the Soldier’s Medal earlier this month.

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