Modern Day Hero Essay

A hero's place in society has remained relatively consistent since the very beginning of time. Throughout the years, people have seen many different versions of larger-than-life heroes, who have completed seemingly impossible tasks and persevered through immense adversity. The common denominator between all of these heroes has always been that each and every one of these beings has put his/her own life in danger and fought great battles in the pursuit of a better life for mankind as a whole.

This is Audie Murphy's life story. At the tender age of 12, he becomes the head of the family after his father deserts them. He joins the army at the age of 18 and through the course of the war is decorated for valor nine times thus becoming the most decorated combat soldier in World War II. Audie does one of the bravest acts any soldier ever did during the war. He climbs aboard a burning tank destroyer and single handedly keeps the enemy from advancing on his position. He spends almost an hour on top of the tank destroyer until his ammunition is exhausted. Seconds later after climbing off the tank destroyer, it explodes. For this action, Audie receives the Medal of Honor.

“It’s not easy to be a hero. You do it because of what you believe, not because of what other people deserve.” Anyone can face a challenge or a hardship. But what makes a true hero is how the person takes on the challenge. Often, heroes show feats of ingenuity and acts of bravery. Two heroes that acted during the American Civil Rights Movement, were Martin Luther King Jr, and Rosa Parks. A hero is a person who has demonstrated behaviors to ethically receive our appreciation and respect. A hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength within themselves to persevere and undergo hardships and calamity.

“It’s not true that there are no heroes anymore…” (Oliver Stone SB 63) Heroes. Today when we hear heroes we think of superheroes with powers. but have we really thought what heroes really are? Heroes are your regular everyday people that work to the best of their abilities to make a difference in the world. A hero is not someone who thinks about themselves but someone who does things that they believe are right and are admired or idealized for their courage.

Ransom A Slack is the soldier that I made a biography on. He was a farmer as a young boy and continued through his life. As a child he had a brother and three sisiters. He worked as a farmer almost his full life before and after the war. Like most of the young men in vermont he went to the war to fight for his country. He thought of war to be thing that he must to as his duty. He went to war to get away from the hard work of daily life and to be honored.

In his five years of life, young Nathaniel Jr. has become a hero. By relaying his location in a way he was able to understand, the courageous five-year-old may have saved his father’s life. Nathaniel Jr. is not the definition of a common hero, yet through his actions he has become a hero. Although Nathaniel Jr. May be only five, he conveys many qualities of a hero, such as;

The first sentence of Audie Murphy’s biography reads, “Audie Leon Murphy was a legend in his own time” (“Sergeant Audie Murphy Award,” 2015), a seemingly fitting introduction for one of the bravest combat soldiers in our nation’s history. Never the less, I believe it simply does not do him the justice he earned. Audie Murphy was not just a legend in his own time; he is a legend today, and remains a legend of the future. Many people recognize his famed name and know him to be a war hero. Nevertheless, most are not fully educated on the “legend” that was, is, and always will be Audie Murphy. I, for one, intend to portray this American hero’s story to as many people as possible. Audie Leon Murphy set the standard of what battlefield courage

He was always a person with an easy smile, a good heart, and willingness to want to help someone in need. He was loved by everyone; family, friends, and fellow troops. His dedication for the troops was shown by his compassionate work style and caring approach in regards to his work for he spent endless hours trying to find ways to improve service members, veterans and their loved ones lives.

The formidable force known throughout the world today for their courageous acts of bravery, started out from two battalions raised with the early continental navy on November 10th 1775. These battalions were started for amphibious landings with the naval fleets, the first of which was conducted by Captain Samuel Nicolas who later on became the Marines first Commandant. After the Revolutionary War though, the Marines were disbanded as the naval war ships were sold to deal with the crippling debt the new nation had gained fueling its Armies and Navies during the 8 years of fighting for independence from the British Empire. Almost 20 years afterwards the USMC (United States Marine Corps) was reinstated and have seen almost every major and minor engagement that has involved the United States of America’s assets and people (USMC History Division Web).

. Purpose: To provide information about military soldier Audie Murphy and his significant impact on the military.

Just before World War 2 the Marines and in general the United States armed forces saw a revamping of its war machine. After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Marine Corps was sent with the Navy to capture key points in the Japanese Imperial Empire also known as the “Island Hopping campaign.” The Marines saw extensive combat during its amphibious landings throughout the Pacific on many islands such as Guadalcanal, Pelelui, Tarawa, Okinawa and numerous others. On some of the landings, no other than the Lewis B “Chesty Puller” commanded these brave men to victory, he would later lead countless men during the Korean war six years later (USMC History Division Web).

When I was 14 years old I toured my first Military Institute at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. I witness first hand American Troops returning from Desert Storm with numerous life threatening injuries sustained during combat. Troops who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country 's freedom. I recall asking myself “What is a hero? And what it symbolizes in our modern world?” and “What does a hero look like?”, my vision of a hero as a kid included a cartoon character with superpowers wearing a cape, Instead as I stared at a young Army Sergeant, burned beyond recognition sitting on wheelchair, unable to walk as he lost both limbs while in combat, That is when I recall asking myself again, “What is a hero?” The term hero comes from the Ancient Greeks, for them a man of great strength and courage favored by the gods and in part descended from them, often regarded as a demigod and worshiped after his death. Despite decades of envisioning a hero as a cartoon figure such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman, my heroes wear desert camouflage BDU’s. Although in the vision of some, a hero may be inspiring weather it to be oneself or to others, A hero is a person who saves lives. My vision of a hero intel 's of both qualities in addition to bravery and courage which may have been someone who saves lives or puts their own life on the line to save another, the definition of a hero may be different in someone else 's visions. Personal athlete or famous

I admire this person because he was a African-american to get the medal of honor, the highest military award given by the government during his service during WWII. Also he was awarded a Bronze star, 2 Purple hearts, Croce Di Guerra Al valor, combat infantry Badge, and Distinguished Service Badge (which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor) during his service in WWII and Korean war.

Heroes are not always people who lead marches or do things for their country. For example policemen, firefighters, nurses, lifeguards etc. are heroes everyday because they take the time to save lives. When they’re going through a challenge or trying to overcome a conflict they always have courage. These people risk their own life to save someone else’s. To be more specific Dr. Ginger Holt from Dallas had saved a little boy’s leg. She was confident and determined to finding out what went wrong in the boy’s leg and went through many procedures looking at the tests.

This is a different sort of Pressfield book. Unlike the historical fiction genre in which he’s written such best-sellers as “Gates of Fire,” “The Afghan Campaign, and “The Profession,” “The Warrior Ethos” is the culmination of years of discussions Pressfield’s been having with Marines and others who were taken with the blend of courage-under-fire and humanity shown by Leonidas, Dienekes, Matthais, Gent, and the other characters in his books. “I wanted to give something back to our men and women fighting overseas,” Pressfield told Gazette, so I put together the best anecdotes and stories from all my research about the Spartans, Alexander's Macedonians, the Romans, and Rommel.”