Soldier Named Lee S. Smith ’65 Award Recipient

The Lee S. Smith ’65 Courage & Honor Award Committee recognizes alumni who elevate humanity by making a positive impact in the world. For the past several months, the Committee has considered nominations of numerous St. Mark’s alumni and is pleased to announce that Colonel Cedric Lee ’96 will be the third recipient of this award. 

Currently serving as Brigade Commander of the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, COL Lee is currently deployed in the Middle East, leading a force of more than 5,000 troops stationed across multiple combat zones in the region. In this position, COL Lee plays a key role in coordinating the rapid redeployment of air defense equipment and personnel across the region. 

For more than two decades, COL Lee has dedicated his life to public service, leading troops and planning operations across the globe, including Korea, Germany, Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. As a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies, he has built a career defined by integrity, empathy, and deep respect for the men and women under his command. 

“Throughout his life, Cedric has demonstrated an incredible sense of duty to his country,” said Jon Myhre ’96, chair of the Lee S. Smith ’65 Courage & Honor Award Committee. “He is driven by a mission to help mold the character and the leadership of the young men and women who are serving in his command.” 

COL Lee often reflects on how his global perspective began as a student at St. Mark’s, including the time he spent studying abroad in the United Kingdom and Spain. 

“Those experiences shaped my love for travel and, more importantly, a passion for connecting deeply with cultures and people beyond my comfort zone,” COL Lee shared in a 2023 interview with The Pride magazine. “In an increasingly globalized and technologically advanced world, it is imperative to develop and master the soft skills of personal and strategic empathy.” 

 

Even as his military career has taken him across the globe, COL Lee has stayed connected with St. Mark’s, reconnecting at alumni events in Dallas and Washington, D.C. Throughout his deployments, students have written letters of appreciation to soldiers under COL Lee’s command. In gratitude, COL Lee sent Lower School students an American flag that flew in Iraq. COL Lee also took a St. Mark’s flag with him on a recent overseas deployment with the 108th Brigade. 

In 2007, COL Lee returned to St. Mark’s for Centennial Weekend, where he joined a panel of speakers specializing in government and national service. On that panel, he sat next to Matt Osborne ’90, last year’s recipient of this award.  

The Lee S. Smith ’65 Courage & Honor Award was established in 2023 to recognize an alumnus of the St. Mark’s community who demonstrates courage, honor, perseverance, and justice in the communities to which they belong by using his voice and actions to affect measurable change to elevate humanity. The award is named in honor of Lee Smith ’65, the School’s first Black student, who served as an exemplar of the ideals of the award as a student at St. Mark’s and throughout his professional and personal life.  

Throughout the past year, members of the community were invited to nominate alumni they believed deserved recognition for their outstanding service. The Committee, composed of alumni, faculty, and parents, carefully reviewed the nominees and made the final selection. 

Lee Smith ’65 will present the award to COL Cedric Lee ’96 at the Spring Alumni Dinner on Friday, April 25, 2025.