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Thread: What makes a hero

  1. #1
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    Default What makes a hero

    Sent to me for commenst, what are yours on this one?

    Guys,
    No doubt you have heard of the Canadian Military helicopter, that had an engine malfunction over the Mediterranean nearer Greece.
    Not a war zone.
    Sadly all hands were lost.
    One body was recovered.
    Her body was brought back to Canada.
    We have had major media coverage of her arrival, with our PM and military high dignitaries, in attendance.
    While I am saddened by their deaths, I am at a loss to understand, what 'heroic' act they preformed.?
    To me the real heroes, are those who 'lay down their lives for their friends'
    Being an ex Merchant Seaman, I am rather bias.
    The seaman who voluntary signed on ships in convoys, to cross the western ocean, knowing that they had a one in four chance of survival, they were the heroes.
    Because the deceased Canadians wore a uniform, is that any different to an Airline or traffic accident?
    Am I missing something?
    Will be interested on your views and comments.
    Den.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    They will be a hero to someone close to them anyone who dies is, they may die as they are today with an unknown virus , but they are not classed as heroes to those who did not know them. Every year practically in the North Sea there was a helicopter down with deaths , I can’t remember them being called heroes. The term itself I assume is used by people as an expression of grief only that’s the way I look at it. A real distortion of the word are our millionaire sports players the way the media describe them as heroes. Very astute business people would be a better expression.. I can see where Den is coming from, the word Hero is misused all the time as an expression of the way a person dies. It is totally misused to describe them alive well and kicking a pigs bladder around . JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 7th May 2020 at 07:42 AM.

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    A hard question to reply to as i see it.
    We do not really know the past History of those Killed in that Crash,be they in Uniform or otherwise!
    I do though agree with what is said about our Merchant Navy Men and Women that sacrificed so much for us,and that will never be forgotten.
    However most all in Uniform perform tasks of sometimes dangerous natures, be it Modern day Pilots, Firefigters, Police or whatever so i feel that we should not satnd in judgement about what is good or bad. Not saying you do. But??

    Yes again you are correct perhaps in saying is that no different from etc etc.
    And again i repeat we do not know their past, so we must just say farewell to them, in a respectful way as we can, and let them RIP.
    Just my thoughts
    Cheers
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

    R697530

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    I can't comment on this tragic accident as I know nothing about the circumstances, it's always a very sad occasion when these things happen,
    but I do think that in today's society the word hero is used far too lightly and it is easier to say who isn't a hero than who is, for instance the
    overpaid millionaire footballer who scores a match winning goal is seen as a hero in the eyes of thousands of fans, for me, no way is he a hero.
    Only this week a fifteen year old lad walking his dog in Yorkshire, spotted a toddler in the river, without hesitation he dived in and thankfully was
    able to save the 15 month old boys life, the child had escaped his back garden and fell into the river, that young man is a hero in my eyes,
    unbelievably a few years ago two cricket teams stood on a river bank and made no attempt to save a drowning child, I believe a hero
    is somebody who risks their own life in trying to save another's, the NHS medical teams fighting the virus without access to PPE knowing the risk
    they are taking but carry on regardless, the firemen and rescue workers who entered the world trade towers knowing they could collapse at any
    time, these are the actions of heroes to my mind, then you have the people who are awarded the VC and GC, but celebreties and sportspeople
    for me, NO WAY, cheers.

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    A Hero is someone who risks their life or loses their life to save others.

    66 and a half years ago on a Beach in East London, South Africa ,my mate Ken Hignet couldn't swim, he was swept away by the Current out to sea, in BIG waves. I went after him and eventually Ken Died and I lost his body then I was drowning,
    hundreds of people watching from the beach, but a 15 year old lad, David Brinton, swam out and found me and he got me , unconscious , back to the beach and to Hospital
    . He saved my life. Then he swam out again and saved the life of Dennis Riley, AB.
    He was a real HERO. risked his life and saved two of us.
    It took me 48 years to find him to thank him for saving me. Ken is buried in the East Cemetery in East London, I could have been next to him.
    So after all those years I finally met him again on BBC TV, Esther Rantzen Show and then able to thank him, He had come over to live in Scotland and I was searching Africa.
    We still keep in touch regularly on the phone , by post and also visited him in Stranraer Scotland. I would have disappeared more than 66 years ago but for him.
    That is a HERO, Not some overpaid sports person who kicks a football. little kids can do that.
    Brian

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    Brian without saying too much and causing others to have red faces and possible apoplexy , there will always be those that stand back and watch from a distance. These are usually the ones to expound their own honourable actions, don’t you believe it , those that shout loudest especially with the assistance of the media, treat with caution to their authenticity. You know yourself the distances the press will go to make a headline , true or not doesn’t really matter in most cases. Most people active in such deeds the last thing they want is to be put on display. That is for the would be Oscar seekers. JS

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    May I ask ' who ' called them heroes in the first place. Was the word actually used by the media or the Government, or was it attributed, put in and emphasised by the author of the original post to you, John, because of the media reaction and the Government's actions.

    My feelings are , they were serving members of the Military, willing to lay down their lives in the service of their country and no matter what happened, to sadly die in such an accident is tragic and is as tragic as being killed in enemy action. Therefore it was a very respectable gesture by the Government to have the returning body honored in such a way.
    Last edited by Chris Allman; 7th May 2020 at 02:21 PM.
    When one door closes another one shuts, it must be the wind

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    In that case killed in the line of duty should be appropriate. Heroes definition from dictionary is , “0ne greatly regarded for achievements or qualities, or principle character in story “.
    To me Hero is one who battles evil. Most heroic acts achieved in war are the killing of the enemy, that is usually done in anger . Most medals are won by achieving a winning position. Depending on how the Adrenalin is flowing will depend on the risks that are taken.The enemy doesn’t have to be a human being it could be weather or any other act of nature. I would place the Salvation Amy high up on the list of heroes in their battle against poverty.
    A uniform is only just that , it is the person inside who is the hero or not. A nurse is still a nurse without her uniform. A person doesn’t have to wear livery to be one. Hero is just a word , but it is much overused and tends to lose its real meaning. JS
    PS with this writing out the word hero’s and the state of my eyes I misspelt the word and put herpes. Luckily saw it in time. Cheers JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 7th May 2020 at 09:31 PM.

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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    Hero. Another fine word that has been bastardize by the media? The Oxford English Dictionary meaning:- Hero,n.(pl~es) Demigod, man of superhuman qualities;
    man admired for great deeds & noble qualities; chief man in poem, play, or story; (rhet.) one who has fought for his country (homes for~es);~--worship(per), of the ancient
    ~es or of heroic men [Lf. Gk heros] I suppose we must include Heroines in todays world the Ancient Greeks had then too.

    (rhet.) meaning:- Rhetoric, n. Art of speaking or writing effectively; artificial or inflated or exaggerated language. In my opinion this is the said media.

  10. #10
    Keith at Tregenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: What makes a hero

    It’s their willingness to put their own lives on the line
    in an effort to save the lives of others.

    K.

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