Heros?

For some time I have watched in silence a phenomenon that is taking place in this country that has me concerned, and that is the seeming change of definition by the populace as it applies to the word "hero." It seems today that anyone is deemed a hero simply by the act of participation. Hero to me has a different meaning.

A hero is someone who acts in an unusual or spectacular way, perservering in the face of impossible odds long after ordinary people would quit, or saving the life of another having little or no regard for their personal safety.

I have known many heros in my life, my grandfather who was severely crippled since the age of thirteen, who never once asked for help even though with his disability he could have relied upon government aid, never did so. Or the Marine I knew personally, who though punctured by enemy bullets many time, knowing that his wounds would be ultimateley fatal; continued to fight against overwhelming odds to protect the lives of his squad members so they could escape. Heroism of this kind always brings tears to my eyes, and gratitude to my heart that I was able to bask in their light for even a short while.

An incident happened to me in the middle nineties where two of my Deputies were shot while trying to stop a felon who had just murdered a woman, by burning her to death in a fire that the felon had started. It was sheer luck on his part, but the felon firing a stolen pistol behind him as he ran, struck the lead Deputy in the forehead with a 9mm bullet that penetrated his cranium through and through. It did not kill him, but he will suffer seizures for the rest life, resulting in his untimely medical retirement. The other Deputy my friend Chon T was struck with a stray round fired by the same felon in the right shoulder, that would have been fatal to a smaller man, but he untimateley recovered. The Deputy who was struck in the head placed himself and the life of Chon T in jeopardy when he foolishly followed the felon into a box canon attempting to make an arrest that would bring him fame, but instead untimately resulted in both of them being shot.

During the investigation into the shooting, it was found that the issue shotgun the lead Deputy had with him when he was shot was loaded with bird shot, instead of the mandatory buckshot loads the department required to be loaded into the shotgun, and which are deemed adequate defense load. To add to this the three rounds of birdshot loaded in the shotgun were so old that they were defective, and if he had had an opportunity to fire the shotgun at the felon, all three rounds would have misfired. It seems that the last time he used the gun was to fire at quail during quail hunting season, and he had never replaced the loads.

After the shooting I was forced to endure the public adulation he received as a "hero", when in reality he was a fool who blindly stumbled into a situation in which he was inadequately equipped or prepared to handle, and almost losing his life and almost causing the death of another fine Deputy.

Several months after the shooting took place Deputy Chon T came to me and stated the following. He said, "T" I have listened to your stories about the shootings in which you have been involved, during our association over the last five years, and I appreciate them and the fact that you were trying to teach me and prepare me for my first shooting experience, but I never really took what you said seriously enough until that bullet hit me. I remember very clearly thinking, "Oh my gosh everything "T" told me was true."

Experience is truly our finest teacher. I honor those who give of themselves to help defend our country in military and police service, but let us be careful how we use the word hero, and to whom we apply that title. Getting shot does not always make you a hero, it could simply mean you didn't duck.