You, too, might be a hero someday

Published 11:27 am Friday, June 8, 2012

Over the past several weeks, the word “hero” has gotten a bit of attention.

During the recent shooting that occurred at a Seattle cafe, one of the (unarmed) customers actually picked up barstools and began throwing them at the shooter, which allowed others to escape. Thankfully, he came away alive.

When later asked why he did this, he told police that “his brother died in the World Trade Center” and that he’d promised himself that, in any such situation, he wasn’t going to be diving under a table.

Bless that man.

On a different note, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes recently came under sharp criticism when he said that he was “uncomfortable about the word (hero) because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.”

I think I know what he was trying to say, but he said it in such a way as to ensure that anger would ensue and his meaning would be lost. Do note that in these days of “gotcha” journalism (used by both sides) anything you say can and will be used against you as soon as it can be inserted into the news cycle.

It seems that the word “hero” sparks something in all of us and, over the years, I’ve read about, met, and been fortunate to speak with individuals who’ve earned that title.

In 1971, as a young ensign, I was given the job of taking a staff car to the local airport to pick up an admiral who was arriving to visit our ship.

He was older, gruff, and all business, but he did tell me his name. He was Admiral John D. Bulkeley — the officer commanding the PT boat that had evacuated Gen. Douglas MacArthur from the Philippines. He received the Medal of Honor for that and later won the Navy Cross in another battle.

We did talk a bit during the drive and I mentioned that I knew what he’d done and was honored to meet him. His reply was: “Don’t be. I just happened to be the officer who was there with a PT boat and was given the mission. It was simply my job.”

I read about another instance in World War II wherein a bomber on a mission over Europe took a cannon shell through the cockpit window. The blast hit the pilot directly in the head — severely wounding, but not killing him. The problem was that he was thrashing around for the next several hours and still had his hands on or near the controls.

The copilot somehow managed — for the remainder of the mission — to gain control of the plane, gain and keep control of the pilot, and fly the plane all the way home. This in cockpit conditions that would have many of us emptying our stomachs at the first look at what was sitting next to us.

Closer to home, firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs, rescue teams, soldiers, sailors and others routinely head toward trouble rather than away from it. They’re all “heroes.”

The same could be said about neighbors going into burning homes, motorists stopping at the scene of accidents to enter mangled cars, or ordinary people who step into other dangerous situations without a second thought.

But, here’s something else. I once read a letter to the editor wherein the writer described something she’d seen while shopping. There, an obviously exasperated and angry father was loudly correcting his child and ended up slapping him. When that happened, the letter writer said that she watched a middle-aged woman standing near the pair walk up to the father and very calmly and quietly ask him if she could help.

Whatever words she used, whatever mannerisms she employed, the writer said that she calmed the situation and, shortly thereafter, a very embarrassed father was apologizing to his son. The writer called that woman a heroine and, you know what? She was.

“I just happened to be there.” “Someone had to do something.” “I got mad.”

If you ever have the chance to talk to one of these individuals, you’ll be surprised at how often these — or very similar — words are spoken.

No doubt there are those who cannot or will never do any of the above, but I believe that there are far more who will without hesitation. They just don’t know it because they haven’t arrived at the scene where they’ll be needed — yet.

And, for certain, it’s a good feeling knowing they’re out there.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@comcast.net.