The word "hero" get batted around a lot, probably a lot more than it should. If anyone does something that smacks of selflessness they are quickly dubbed as a "hero". I guess there really is not anything wrong with that. In my view it devalues the term a bit when an admirable act on behalf of others is enough for a person to earn hero-status. Every one has their own definition of what a hero really is. I am not sure I can put my definition into a short pithy statement that does justice to those who truly earn recognition as a hero. However, I am confident that while I may not be able to describe what a hero is in terms that accurately describe the attributes of such a person, I do know a hero when I see one. If you want to read about a hero, do yourself a favor and read the book "Lasting Valor" about Vernon J.Baker one of many unheralded African-American "buffalo soldiers" who fought in World War II.
I think an attribute that often, but not always is present in a person deemed to be a hero is lasting performance over time. Certainly a person who rescues a child from a burning building performed a heroic act and may even be a hero, but often times that type of action may be more reflexive than anything else. Vernon Baker lived in a time when many things in America were stacked against him, including the law of the land which in many ways relegated him to second class citizenship. Baker's story accurately portrays the daily life of a kid and then a young adult where life was unfair, in the truest definition of the word. There were times when Baker was mad, there times when he was dejected, there certainly times when he had enough justifiable frustration to knock some one's block off, but he didn't. When the time came to do his duty, for a country that had stacked the deck against him, Vernon Baker and his fellow black soldiers did their duty. In Baker's case he and many of his colleagues performed their duty with such daring, bravery, and effectiveness that they were awarded the nation's highest military honor, The Congressional Medal of Honor. The only catch is that they were recognized for their accomplishments, for their magnificent performance under fire by President Clinton, not President Roosevelt or Truman. So Vernon Baker, the only non-posthumous recipient, lived for over 40 years, knowing that he had served his country with rare distinction yet was not recognized for his heroics because he was a black man in a white man's army during World War II. It seems to me (and probably if it were me) that this might be a source of bitterness over a lifetime and could drive a great deal of discouragement and resentment towards the country and the people for whom I and my friends had risked our lives. If you are interested in the detailed story, please, read the book. You will read the story of a true hero, a story that I wish more people in the United States knew.
From my perspective, it is not just the acts of courage and bravery that make Vernon Baker a national hero, it is the conditions under which her performed them and his reactions to the injustice of his lack of recognition. Mr, Baker is a hero, not just because he was a tremendous soldier. He is a hero because he was able to persevere through decades following the war to lead the successful life of a man of great character in addition to his great courage. His is an inspiring story. Maybe that is a critical credential for heroism. I don't know, I cannot put it into words, but I know one when I see one and Vernon Baker is an American Hero in the truest sense of the term.
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