AVENTURA, Fla. – Standing proudly at 4 feet 9 inches tall, Army veteran Richard Flaherty was known for his small stature and his huge sense of American pride.
Flaherty served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War and acquired several medals for his service, including four Purple Hearts.
Most knew him as the tiny man with the big gun, but Yuzuk knew him as a friend.
"He was a fun guy to talk to," Yuzuk said. "He had a lot of life in him."
Not long after Flaherty's death, Yuzuk found items in a storage unit that belonged to Flaherty. Among them was a thank-you note from a woman Flaherty helped after her wallet was stolen.
Flaherty found the wallet and immediately mailed it to her. She wrote, in part, "You make me believe in the goodness of humanity."
"That's the kind of man Richard was," Yuzuk said.
Yuzuk is now working on a documentary on Flaherty's life. The pieces are slowly coming together, but with the copious articles he's found and the anecdotes they shared over lunches at Subway, Yuzuk said he is off to a good start.
As many pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom this Memorial Day, Yuzuk hopes Flaherty's story will inspire others to reach out to the unsung heroes who are still here and need help.
Jan. 21: Walter Reyes was killed and Henry Hernandez was injured in a hit-and-run crash while they were riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.Jan. 21: University of Maryland student Alejandro Alvarez was arrested later that day. Miami-Dade police said Alvarez was out friends at a club in Miami Beach and was driving home when he struck the bicyclists. Police said Alvarez initially drove home and tried to make it look as though the car had been burglarized, but he eventually returned to the scene.Jan. 28: Richard Parsons, 22, was injured in a hit-and-run crash while he was walking to a Metrorail station in northwest Miami-Dade County.Feb. 7: Martin O'Connor, a tourist from Ireland, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Lauderdale. Broward Sheriff's Office detectives said Richard Jennings, who was driving his girlfriend's BMW, fled the scene but was arrested at his Hollywood home later that day.Feb. 10: A silver Honda CR-V struck a woman as she was crossing Northwest Second Court in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood.Feb. 12: Miguel Morales Ixmata was crossing Bird Road in southwest Miami-Dade County when he was struck by a car and then run over by another vehicle, both of which kept going.Feb. 13: An off-duty Miami police sergeant was injured in a hit-and-run crash while riding his motorcycle.Feb. 14: The hit-and-run driver "left me there to die," Sgt. Marvin Sanders, a 25-year veteran, said from his hospital bed.Feb. 16: Jose Rubio-Perez was riding his bicycle in southwest Miami-Dade County when he was struck by a 2010-15 dark metallic gray Dodge Ram pickup truck.Feb. 22: Takesha Hayes was in a motorized wheelchair when she was struck and killed in Miami.March 1: A man was struck by a 2014 Chevrolet Impala while riding his bicycle in Dania Beach.March 3: Two days later, Carlos Miguel Lee was arrested in the death of Maurice White.March 26: A bicyclist was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Bird Road near Granada Boulevard in Coral Gables.March 27: Police located the damaged Nissan Altima that struck the Coral Gables bicyclist. The car was hidden behind a fence at a southwest Miami-Dade County home.March 29: Jason Swanson was struck and killed by a pickup truck while riding his motorcycle in Hollywood.April 11: Gustavo Sanchez was arrested after police said he struck a woman with his car in Miami while intoxicated.April 18: Police said Ernesto Izquierdo Gonzalez left the scene of a Hialeah crash that killed Amelia Caridad Diaz, 66. Police said witnesses followed him to a nearby store, where he was arrested.April 23: Moshe Moll was riding his motorcycle near Southwest 44th Street and Southwest 112th Avenue when he was struck by a Chevrolet Tahoe.April 24: Police arrested Juan Carlos Redero in connection with the March 26 hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist.April 25: A man was struck and killed as he crossed Northwest 32nd Avenue near Northwest 46th Street. Witnesses said the car was speeding and revved its engine seconds before impact.April 26: Eladio Garcia was identified as the driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe that struck Moshe Moll as he was riding his motorcycle.May 9: Vietnam veteran Richard James Flaherty, 70, is found dead after a hit-and-run crash in Aventura.June 20:Alfredo Rodriguez, 48, was fatally struck by a speeding SUV on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach shortly after he had gotten off work.Aug. 29: James Ortibez, 39, was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in Fort Lauderdale. He was pronounced dead the next day.Sept. 3: A 9-year-old boy was struck by a car after he got off his bicycle to look at a sign in Coral Gables. The driver of the car didn't stop. The boy was taken to Miami Children's Hospital in serious condition.Sept. 5: Jean Carlos Hernandez-Trujuillo was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his scooter in Miami.Sept. 10: Dennis Cerrato was arrested in connection with the Sept. 3 hit-and-run crash that sent Sebastian Ochoa, 8, to a hospital.Oct. 13: A silver BMW was speeding along Collins Avenue when it struck a man near 11th Street. The driver of the car fled the scene.Oct. 16: A pedestrian is struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash on Quail Roost Drive.Oct. 26: A 15-year-old girl is struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash while trying to cross at the intersection of Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 15th Avenue.Dec. 4: Amanda Crews was struck by a 2005 Chevrolet Outlander while trying to cross a Pompano Beach intersection. Jerry Mayo was arrested the next day.Dec. 8: Police say a driver and passenger in a rental car ran away after a crash that injured a man in northwest Miami-Dade County.Dec. 10: Silvestre Diaz is arrested in connection with the hit-and-run crash that injured singer Michael Rodriguez.Dec. 19: A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Northwest 62nd Street near Northwest 19th Avenue in Miami-Dade County.Dec. 22: Junette Escarment was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Miami.
Jan. 21: Walter Reyes was killed and Henry Hernandez was injured in a hit-and-run crash while they were riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
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