A Soldier

One friend had posted a picture of her husband. He’s in desert fatigues complete with helmet and vest. Her comment touched my heart. She indicated that though he was hot, tired, and far from home, in a place where the people didn’t want him, and he might not even had wanted to be there a smile lit his face. This so explained a soldier’s life. They may not like the administration or the orders given them, but they stay and fight.

I think of my uncles, one of whom passed away this summer from cancer most likely started with Agent Orange back in Vietnam. They went places and saw things that I will never be able to imagine. They came home to no thanks, no welcome. They stuffed their experiences and went on living even if they experienced PTSD. They fought their own demons as surely as they fought the Viet Cong.

A Hero

As I scrolled further down, I saw Massimo Marino‘s post for Veteran’s Day. With his photo, he told a story. To gain the context, the reader needs to be aware that Massimo is from France. This is the story in his words.

My mom was a kid under Nazi occupation in latest years of WWII.

Her little village in Central Italy… A large SS contingent temporarily occupied the scattered houses, robbing people of whatever they could. Prisoner US GIs were guarded nearby at gun point.

While playing with friends using round rocks in lieu of real marbles, one of her throws skidded and hit an SS officer’s boots.

The enraged man turned and aimed his gun at her. Livid, and ready to shoot. His hateful voice, screaming who knows what obscenities in German, froze my mom who paled and began to tremble.

As the SS officer’s hand contracted on the gun, one of the GIs stood up and put himself in the line of fire. The SS knocked him down with the gun and had him taken away.

My mom’s voice trembles when she describes the scene. She believes, and I believe, she was spared because of that unknown hero.

A Song

I am in my third year of teaching in a small school. After attending the leadership conference for student councils last weekend, I’ll define small school. Our high school has a total of 69 students in grades 9-12. I love working there. My first year, the ensemble sang the national anthem on 9/11 to start our day. Each year, we have held some ceremony for Veteran’s Day and honored the four out of ten teachers who served in the armed services. Yesterday, I stood with the student body around the flag pole. Two students raised the flags while the nine member ensemble sang the national anthem and God Bless America. Our vice-principal said a few words to honor those who had served, and then we returned to our classes. That little interuption in our regular routine meant a lot to me. I stood and heard the words to the first verse as if for the first time. The happenings of the week and the high emotions that accompanied the election and the days after shed an extra layer of light upon the words.

God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with the light from above.

From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home.

I don’t know about you, but I am willing to share kindness and continue to smile even if I don’t like what is happening around me. I’ll be like those soldiers who served or are serving. Let’s not hate social media, but do our part to make it a welcoming place again.

“Look just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword, it doesn’t make you a hero!”

~Susan Pevensie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Movie

What then does make a hero? Does a uniform? I know when I think of a hero, the first thing that comes to mind is our men and women who serve in the military. I don’t know if that is because my Gramps Pat who served in WWII, his grandpa who fought in the Civil War, or my uncles who were in Vietnam. I do know that I get teary eyed as I hear

“Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave. O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”

Since 9/11 another group comes to mind as heroes. They, too, wear a uniform but it is a different style than the military. Police officers and firefighters have been regulated to the status of hero. I know in our community where it is a volunteer firefighting group, I know many who go out at night for an accident or a fire. I even have two students who have come in to class groggy because they were out late on a call the night before. With the fire raging in Canada right now, many would view those who are fighting it as heroes.

What makes a hero? Is it someone who does some great act that goes against the grain of who they are? Is it someone who stands up for what they believe? What is it that defines a heroic deed? Just as courage can be simply doing what you know needs to happen even when you don’t want to or don’t feel like doing it; so, too, being a hero is doing what you know needs to be done whether or not others would do it.

Take this case in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where Coca-Cola installed cameras on public transportation to see who would give up their seat for someone who needed it. Their statistics are interesting. When I asked high school students to compare them with a similar situation in the US, students weren’t too sure Americans would be heroes as often as Ecuadorians.

Quite often this definition of a hero is seen in books, especially fantasy. Someone is thrust into an unknown situation or world and is forced to do what has to be done, but doesn’t necessarily want to or feel qualified to do so. Yet, even in the world of make-believe we can see glimpses of truth. Things we can aspire to.

In the real world, we have people who are heroes. After showing the Coca-Cola movie to high school students, I asked them to describe who their hero was. Their answers surprised me. Many of them said their Mom!

Who is your hero? Answer in the comments for a chance to win the first book in my fantasy series.

1.	Ariel Storm	20.	Kandi J Wyatt
2.	Romance Novel Giveaways (INT)	21.	Gary Schwartz
3.	Hearts & Scribbles ~ Jennifer Faye (INT)	22.	Nancy Lee Badger, Author
4.	herding cats & burning soup	23.	Romancing Adventure
5.	Tory Richards	24.	Savings in Seconds (US)
6.	Joanne Jaytanie (INT)	25.	Judy @Musings and Ramblings
7.	Bambi Unbridled	26.	Adria’s Romance Reviews
8.	bridget blackwood	27.	Deal Sharing Aunt USA
9.	Author J Lenni Dorner	28.	3 Partners in Shopping USA
10.	Bargnhtress	29.	Hazel @ Craves the Angst Book Blog
11.	Deanna’s World	30.	A.M. Willard
12.	Kathy Bosman	31.	Shay West
13.	Lucy Felthouse	32.	Celia Breslin
14.	Rockin’ Book Reviews	33.	Becky Flade
15.	I Smell Sheep	34.	Kathy @ My Nook Books & More
16.	Share My Destiny	35.	Dani Harper, PNR Author
17.	Lea’s Crazy Nights	36.	Alicia @ Addicted Readers (INT)
18.	Jacey Holbrand (INT)	37.	Sahara Roberts
19.	Where the Story Comes First (INT)