What Makes a Hero? [Doug]

I spent Memorial Day with my wife's family, which included her 87 year old grandfather who served as a communications specialist in World War II. For a portion of the time, I sat across from him with my son and nephew to preserve the legacy of the war from his perspective to these impressionable young minds.

My nephew's understanding of this war has been dictated by action movies and video games that are often larger than life, as evidenced by his questions. "Grandpa, were you ever ambushed? Did you shoot many guys? Did you blow anybody up?" The answers he received did not satisfy his views of the glories of war.

Tina's grandfather was stationed in India for most of his three year time of active duty. His job was to maintain communication lines that would be cut by natural means and also by the enemy who would lie in wait for the man to come and make repairs at the top of the pole. He pointed out that the only times that he was in any danger, he had disregarded the training he received.

The one time he was shot at, he had climbed to the top of a pole to splice some wire and did not scan the area for snipers. The bullet that nearly took his life came so close to his head that he felt the heat of it as it passed. Another time of danger occurred when he got lost in elephant grass in the middle of the night, so he just settled down until daylight, when he could find his way back to base. He had been out without a buddy.

Nobody in his unit died as a result of enemy attack, and he did not shoot down any enemy aircraft. When my nephew heard this, he didn't know what to think. The men who died in his unit primarily died from "jungle rot." The environment killed more men in his immediate knowledge than the enemy.

I hope that these boys come to realize that heroes don't have to earn their distinction by the number of people they killed or the overt dangers they faced. Tina's grandfather is a hero to me for his willingness to serve three years in unfamiliar territory. When he was done, he turned down an offer of extended private contracting work doing the same thing under less dangerous conditions and went home so he could raise a family.

Too many men have the mistaken notion that leaving the family for the sake of adventure is the way to be a hero. Ervin Kleekamp is a hero to me for leaving financial opportunities and adventure behind for the joys of the real adventure in a man's life. That adventure would be found for Erv in the family he was blessed with.