What makes a Hero? What makes us believe?

I just finished reading the book "In the company of Hero's" by Michael Durant, who was the famous Blackhawk night stalker pilot that was shot down in mogadishu and held captive for 11 days before getting released. First, I cannot fathom going through what he did. He was a brave person alone for just surviving what he went through. However, he brought up some interesting points in his book.

He said that growing up he was a Catholic and attended church every sunday with his family. Once he moved out of the house after graduating high school and joining the military, he said he stopped going, but would on occasion ask for a prayer from a non-denominational preacher on the base.

During his captivity, one of the greatest things that was delivered to him was a tiny Holy Bible. It was great in two-fold. The first was that he used it to secretly keep a journal of everything that happened to him from the crash, to the present. He wrote in any areas of blank space in the bible. Second though, he actually started to read the bible and he conjured up a point that is often said: "There are no atheists in fox holes", which meant that even a non-believer will begin to pray to God when faced with their own mortality.

He didn't always consider himself a non-believer, but going through what he went through seemed to bring him closer to God in many ways. From his time after his captivity, he swore his devotion to making God a priority in his life and it has been that way since.

One of the other cool things from his book was the story of the two Delta Snipers I've spoken about before (Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart), who knowing that they would be stepping into a death pit, begged to be released on the ground from a hovering Blackhawk so they could provide support to Durants fallen chopper and crew. I'm still blown away at Durants recount of how they were both so very calm, despite bullets flying around them and people getting closer and closer. Even when he heard Gordon yell, "I'm hit" , it wasn't a shreak, it was matter-of-factly as if to say "dang"as if he was annoyed. These guys were extremely brave and both obviously earned their post-humous Medals of Honor.

But something interesting Mike Durant found. Upon his arrival home and his rehabilitation, he was asked to come to Gary Gordon's hometown in Maine to speak at a memorial for Gary. When he arrived in the town, he stopped by the local library to check out a book on the Medal of Honor so he could do a little research. He noticed it seemed the book was pretty old, but had not been used much. As he looked at the check-out card, he noticed that years ago, a person by the name of Gary Gordon checked out the book. I'm not sure if he did research or what, but he claimed it was Gary who had checked it out last, when he was a teenager.

So that begged the question, what makes a hero? I believe that heros are born and are within some of us and we just don't know it. Guys that join the military, and especially those that are hard-core committed, say like a Gordon or a Shugart, are people think that have what it takes to be a hero. They're calm under pressure and they think clearly. They have something inside of them that is selfless and proud.

I'm proud of those that choose to truly serve our country, not just get into it to get some schooling paid, or free room and board for a few years (although I'm still grateful for those people at least making a commitment to something), but those that believe in what America does, should, and could stand for. People bitch about our country (and I think most of it comes from within our borders), but I'd like to see someone point out to me a better country and how much greater they have it there. When they do, I'll tell them to pack their bags and get their ass over there and enjoy the rest of their days. I'm not going anywhere.

/rant