Purple Heart, Bronze Star recipient wins $200,000 in lottery

A Purple Heart recipient and veteran formerly stationed at Fort Bragg followed his instincts to a winning lottery ticket worth $200,000.

Howard Smack, of Elizabeth City, bought three $5 Mega Millions/Powerball scratch-off tickets at a Southgate.

One of the tickets was the last of the game’s top prizes, worth $200,000.

“I just had that feeling and I went for it,” Smack said in a press release. “I couldn’t believe it when I won. I may have screamed, just a little bit, I was so excited.”

After taxes, he took home $141,000.

He said he plans to save the money.

“When you’ve served in the military as long as I have, you always have a short-term and a long-term plan,” he said.

The Purple Heart is given to soldiers wounded or killed during their service. Smack has also received the Bronze Star Medal, which honors members of the U.S. Armed Forces for heroic or meritorious service in a combat zone.

The past year has given Smack his share of struggles. After being on dialysis for years, his father received a kidney transplant. Smack has spent significant time with his father before and after the surgery.