"Real Heroes!"

What is a hero? We have quarterbacks, pitchers, boxing champions and legendary lawmen; all are considered heroes by one segment of America or another. Jim Thorpe, Lou Gehrig, Walter Payton and Rocky Marciano all hold the title of hero for many people, and to some extent they are all heroes. We have the "working class heroes"; those people who get up every morning and trek off to work in order to provide their families with food and shelter; even if they can't stand their jobs!

Do any of you know the name Al Schmid? It's not a "household name" to most Americans; it is to most Marines. Al fought on Guadalcanal during WWII. Al fought with a valor and courage that most people don't have: Al was posted in a machine gun nest, feeding rounds into the weapon for the gunner. The gunner was stricken with a head wound, which later proved fatal, and Al was blinded by a Japanese grenade. Although blinded, Al continued to fire his weapon, while being directed by his wounded comrade, throughout the battle. Firing blindly for an entire night is a situation most of us can't comprehend. In the morning, the body count was over 200 dead Japanese! Al received the Navy Cross for his actions; a truly heroic act in the defense of his country. That, my friends, is a hero! Those who sacrifice life and limb for us are the true heroes in this nation.

Do you know the name Anthony Maschek? Most of you probably don't; but I will now enlighten you. Anthony is what most people would consider a regular guy, no "Superman S" on his chest. He is also a war veteran of the Iraqi conflict. Anthony was shot 11 times, lost a leg, and spent two years in the hospital recovering from his wounds! After this ordeal, Anthony could have chosen to pull away from the public eye, having done more than his duty to America. What did Anthony choose to do? In a debate over the military ban at Columbia University, Anthony chose to speak. It seems courtesy is not a prerequisite at Columbia; this war hero was booed and hissed by the crowd of his "fellow students". As I listened to their jeering insults, I became sickened. Those people who preach tolerance and understanding showed who they really are; closed minded, disrespectful and intolerant fools! Some of the crowd shouted the word "RACIST !" What were they thinking? As Americans, we must ask ourselves "what are the values being taught to today's youth?" Men like Anthony took the step most today won't take; he committed himself to the security of the United States of America. Back in the day,those folks who were jeering at him would have been running to Canada; can you say COWARD?

Anthony and Al are the role models we should be holding up to our children: those men and countless others like them are America's real heroes, and we should all be cheering them! If any of you are sending your children off to college, I would recommend taking Columbia University off of your list; you don't know what trash they are shoving into their student's heads!