A while ago, I wrote about what I felt was true genius. I felt the urge to write on that topic because it’s a term that almost lost its definition because it’s used so much. Well I found another word that is tossed around far too often in today’s world. That word is hero.
Between movies, sports and all sorts of other celebrities, the word hero had become sadly diluted in North America. On September 11th and in the weeks thereafter, we were reminded what true heroism really looks like. Many selfless people put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. That is where my personal definition of hero begins. That’s not to say that if you don’t put yourself in harm’s way to help other you can’t be a hero in my book, but it sure does act as a good filter. There’s all sorts of harm out there though. Some known like running up into a burning building as most firefighters do almost on a daily basis and there’s unknown like when workers were removing debris in the midst of foul smelling gases. Today I found a story about a man in the British army who truly and completely showed us all through his actions what a real hero looks like.
This soldier is one in a long line of soldiers who have done this kind of thing before. A soldier diving on a grenade to protect his fellow soldiers does happen from time to time, yet even though you can find other versions of a similar story, I doubt anyone would find them any less amazing, nor any less deserving of the word hero. An act like this goes against the self-preservation instincts that each of us have embedded within our brains. To put yourself not only in a known risky situation, but a known deadly situation to protect others is something we should all take note of and admire.
So that’s what a hero looks like. Today, heroism is 24 years old, wears a British reservists uniform and goes by the name of Lance Corporal Matt Croucher.
Sam // Apr 16, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I agree with that – people have a very distorted view of heros. We have a lot of really bad examples…
Trindent // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I completely agree. L/Cpl Croucher showed true heroism because he didn’t think about or weigh the options of jumping on/not jumping on the grenade. I think it’s telling of someone’s true character how they act in a crisis. As a 9-year member of the Canadian armed forces, I’ve witnessed a lot of dicey situations in combat where people cut&run, or placed their own position before those of others.
Muscle Post // Apr 18, 2008 at 2:43 pm
That is a true hero. Not many people would do what he did and his life should definitely be celebrated for it.
Tom // Apr 18, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Wow that’s really inspiring. I enjoyed this post.
Faraz // Apr 24, 2008 at 12:31 am
No doubt, that marine is a hero. I share the same definition of a hero. Any person that risks his own life to save the life of someone is without a doubt a real hero
md // Apr 30, 2008 at 8:00 pm
aww i was hoping to see a picture of some cool looking dude, but then i had to read the post to understand
~Kelly
Jeff Milincheck // May 5, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Very inspiring. Thank you for reminding us all.
-Jeff
J 4 // May 8, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Well, rightly said! True heroism doesn’t mean glamor that we love to see on screen, but the unsung brave-hearts, who we often don’t remember.
Good post!
Sandra // May 9, 2008 at 5:53 am
So true
Thank you
Czytelnia // May 10, 2008 at 7:24 am
That’s terrible. He threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his friends.
And who said World isn’t cruel ?
Thomas // May 27, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Wow, that’s real heroism!
Sadly, I can’t imagine doing this myself. But hopefully I’ll never have to.