What makes a hero

I think Den when he instigated this discussion was thinking like the brewing of scrumpy and throwing a dead rat into the barrel. isn’t that right Den ? Cheers JS.

Over the years there have been many genuine hero's, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the betterment of others, and those who committed an heroic act to assist others.

But sadly over time the word has lost meaning, when someone who kicks a footy around, or wins a car race is called a hero, or even a legend then there is something sadly lacking in society.

This all started because the repatriation of the six deceased Canadian armed forces personnel were described as heroes.
To some they had done nothing heroic but had merely died in a helicopter accident while on maneuvers during peacetime.
To me anyone who wears a uniform and is prepared to do battle on mine and my countries behalf is a hero.
As are the un-uniformed health workers fighting the Covid outbreak

What makes a hero? Perhaps Rudyard Kipling put it well when describing the British soldier of so many years ago

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

Echoes of York’s Drift there, as recalled in the film Zulu, cheers

Even if their conduct is sometimes dicey, being a single man in a barrack
does not train one to be a saint. While it is usually "Tommy, fall be'ind",
when there is trouble in the wind it turns into "Please walk in front, sir".

K.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John F Collier

Echoes of York’s Drift there, as recalled in the film Zulu, cheers

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Correction, oops suffered a senior moment, confused: should read Rourke’s Drift, cheers

Hi Victoria.
We have a plaque on the wall at the entrance to Cooma R.S.L. with a depiction of Terry? Sheehan firing the gun as he went under the sea. Still not recognized, maybe not by the Govt, but by many in Australia who still remember.
Lest We Forget
Des

Gentlemen to prevent this Thread going Off Topic I have moved the nicknames' posts to a new Thread called ' Military and Other Nicknames - link https://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/...nicknames.html

As per title of post What makes a Hero. For those living in Australia will no doubt have seen in the media especially those living in the Eastern States .How a young calf whale got entangled in a shark net. A passing youngish fella passing in a small boat saw the circumstances jumped over the side and with his hands untangled it , and most probably saved that young life. For reward he was admonished by the local government and faced a fine for interfering with government property .That is the basic story , the public furore may change that decision. He is a hero in my estimation , if one doesn’t take initiative no lives would ever be saved humans as well as whales. That person is a fine example to set for youngsters of today , Safety is alright for the faint hearted , guts and moral values lead by a very large nose , Pinocchio’s would do.seems the only one to say thank you would be the young whale itself. Well done Young fella ! Don’t know how old you are but you certainly showed great promise , even though you look like close to middle age , you certainly show great moral talent. JS.

It has come to the attention of many over the last few weeks that there is a new hero on the block.
One that many had never considered to be such for many years, though there were a few who did.

But now across the globe the cheer is going up for all those medical people, nurses, doctors and the like.
Real heros, the kind any one can look up to as an example of what man kind is capable of by putting the lives of others before theirs.