Heroes

We have heroes all around us; common people that do something uncommonly brave. At the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society we recently received a booklet in French that was forwarded to us about a radioman Robert “Buttons” Hauger. On the return from a successful bombing run into Germany, his plane was hit by antiaircraft shells and was forced down in France. The booklet described his escape and return to Great Britain. His story tells of just one of the many people that fought to protect America.

There is a lot of media coverage of John McCain’s death. Eulogies wax eloquently about his military and political careers. Like any hero, there are certain incidents that are less than noble and in hindsight the person would have resolved to change them.

I was reading about a gentleman named Colonel Fred V. Cherry. He was another Air Force fighter pilot that was shot down on his 100th mission. He was in solitary confinement for 53 weeks and was tortured and punished for 93 straight days. Col. Cherry was held as a prisoner of war for 2,671 days and finally released February 12, 1973. We don’t hear the story of the heroic black pilot, but is another of the unsung heroes who fought for the flag and our country.

All around us are veterans that sacrificed their limbs, their lives, and their mental health to keep America and their families safe, because our government asked them to risk all. Each day we rub elbows with heroes while grocery shopping. Meek and mild people that we wouldn’t guess exhibited bravery are out there, police, paramedics, nurses, doctors, maintenance men, road workers. There are too many to list. They faced the dangers of auto accidents, armed criminals, and other types of dire situations calling for immediate action and they responded. Sometimes we see them for an instant, captured on a camera phone pulling someone from a burning car, tackling a thug, or doing CPR on a drowned child or a heart attack victim. Heroes are not defined by their color, sex, age, or religion. Must we diminish their sacrifice by perpetuating these divisive views? We may have that someone standing beside us today that we need.