Scott Smiley to sign books Nov. 19 in Kennewick

Scott Smiley, the Army’s first active duty blind officer, will sign copies of his book Hope Unseen on Nov. 19 at Barnes & Noble in the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

Smiley, a Pasco native, was blinded in 2005 in Iraq in a blast triggered by a suicide bomber.

Shrapnel hit him in the eyes and entered his brain. He endured surgery and months of recovery.

The injury didn’t stop him from adding item after item to his list of accomplishments. He’s since gone sky-diving and surfing, reached the top of Mount Rainier, earned an MBA from Duke University, taught at West Point and won an ESPY and the Army’s MacArthur Leadership Award.

He and his wife, Tiffany, graduated from Pasco High in 1999.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Scott Smiley to sign books Nov. 19 in Kennewick."