Ever meet a real hero?

Robert Gibeson, a marine who fought in WWII. He sadly made his final PCS last year. We miss him very much.

Everyday...on RP, all of you guys are Real Heroes to me. I am a Lion, I run with lions, my place is not among the sheep...actually, I eat sheep.

I had the honor to meet Neal Armstrong in 1993. I had a million questions running through my head, but I could only say that it was a pleasure to meet you. I also had the pleasure of meeting a World War I veteran at the VA Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL. I just couldn't imagine surviving trench warfare.

The most interesting (not necessarily famous-although I recognized him from bio) was BGen Gary Harrell. He was the Colonel in the famous movie Blackhawk down who authorized the Delta Heroes MSgt Gordon and SFC Shughart (and they were heroes) to go in and try and rescue Chief Durant. They went in knowing that they would likely not return, to save an American. Those were tough decisions. They are HEROES.

I met him while down at CentComm in 2001 and was able to talk with him briefly-he was a little busy, and I was just a Security Forces SSgt on a post.

He signed my copy of Blackhawk Down, which I had just finished reading and recognized his name. It is one of my prized possessions.

I lived and worked for over a decade in Chattanooga. At the time in the 1990s there were several Medal of Honor recipients living in the area - COL Ola Lee Mize, Sergeant Charles Coolidge and CPL Desmond Doss. Doss was a devout Christian and conscientious objector - he became a medic/corpsman, and performed heroically in the Pacific Theater during WWII:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss

His MOH citation will leave you speechless:

He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards (180 m) forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards (7.3 m) of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet (7.6 m) from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards (91 m) to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards (270 m) over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

DOC Enzenauer

That is a loaded question. One answer I saw above is "Every member of the United States Military- and that is true, but one Gentleman does stand out in my mind. My buddy and I were in line at the base theater one night at Homestead AFB, Florida. The theater was out near the visitors quarters (BAQ) Standing behind us was one of the Airmen (Army Air Corps during his time) from the Hiroshima flight of the Enola Gay. For the life of me- younger me can not recall his name. But we had a a short discussion and as we entered the theater, I did shake his hand and thank him. This was the first time I ever thanked a member of the United States Military. Of course I do it all the time now.

What SSG Tim Everett said.

I do especially remember a recently departed friend who was a CPL when captured but found that he was a Gunny after he got back. He always claimed there was nothing heroic about surviving the POW thing, but you always got hints that he wasn't really telling us everything.

Too many to count -- anyone who ever served honourably is my hero. If we're dropping names, the one that stands out to me the most is Roy Benavidez. I stood in the presence of a demigod and I was humbled.

I meet heroes every day. Those who serve on my left and right and continue to do those. I respect and admire vets. I have met POWs and MOH recipients; I listen to their stories of honor and valor and their coming home with honor like a child on story time. I think everyone listens and always come to the old "If that were me..." What would I do in the scenario. I pray I would or could do what they did if put in that position, where training and experience may take over and deny fear the chance to present itself. Heores are around us and among us. I am honored to be surrounded by them.

Haven't met him but this guy is a hero. I like his no nonsense leadership style: