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Thread: Heroes...Alive and Dead

  1. #101
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    I'm sitting here kinda messed up myself. What a hero.

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    New York Boy Who Died Rescuing Relatives Gets Firefighter Funeral

    January 29, 2014

    Tyler Doohan, the 8-year-old upstate New York boy who rescued six relatives from a fire but died while trying to save his grandfather, will be laid to rest Wednesday with a ceremony and honor befitting a fallen firefighter, according to local fire officials.

    Penfield Fire Company has kept an honor guard standing by the remains of the boy during calling hours since Monday, and at the end of a church service on Wednesday, Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer will declare Tyler an honorary firefighter and present his family with a special fire helmet inscribed with the boy's name.

    "The young man acted with a lot of courage and bravery to try to rescue his grandfather after rescuing other members of his family," Ebmeyer said. "He showed valor and strength, and paid the ultimate sacrifice."

    Ebmeyer said he received calls from fire departments from Maine to California, saying something should be done to honor Tyler.

    At the service, firefighters from multiple fire departments will stand at attention in formal "Class A" dress uniforms with bagpipers playing -- the hallmarks of a traditional firefighter's funeral, Ebmeyer said. There will be no funeral procession at the family's request.

    "We want to honor him in a way family and friends will remember and look at him as a hero," Ebmeyer said. "He should be looked at as going above and beyond, even putting his life in danger... This is what firefighters do."

    Tyler, an East Rochester resident, was staying at the home of relatives in Penfield on January 19 when he noticed a fire in the single-wide trailer, officials said.

    As firefighters and sheriff's deputies responded to a 4:45 a.m. emergency call, Tyler was able to wake six other people in the small trailer, including two more children, ages 4 and 6, the fire officials said.

    Then Tyler went back into the blaze to help his grandfather, who was disabled and would have been unable to get out of the home on his own. "By that time, the fire had traveled to the back of the trailer," Ebmeyer said at the time. "Unfortunately, they both succumbed to heat and smoke."

    The pair were found together on a bed in the back room. It appeared that the boy was trying to lift his grandfather from the bed when he was overcome by the smoke and fire, fire officials said.

    The funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. John of Rochester Catholic Church in Fairport.

  3. #103
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    Brain Surgeon Walks 6 Miles Through Storm To Save Patient

    January 31, 2014



    As cities in the southern U.S. continue to recover from the ice and snow storm that brought life to a standstill in many places this week, stories are emerging about the incredible things some people did to help out others.

    Let's start Friday with one of those tales.

    From Alabama, bThe Birmingham News writes that:

    "Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw wonders what all the fuss is about.

    "The doctor who walked six miles in the snow to perform emergency life-saving brain surgery said any good doctor would do it.

    " 'It really wasn't that big of a deal,' Hrynkiw said, addressing reporters today at Trinity Medical Center where he is a neurosurgeon."

    As the storm rolled over Birmingham on Tuesday, Hrynkiw was at one hospital — Brookwood Medical Center — when he got word that a patient at Trinity Medical Center had taken a turn for the worse, needed surgery as soon as possible and that no other surgeon there could do it.

    Driving wasn't an option because of the snow and ice. Emergency personnel were busy. So getting a lift didn't seem to be likely either. The patient had a "90 percent chance of dying" without the operation, Hrynkiw says.

    The doctor put a coat over his hospital scrubs. His shoes were covered by operating room "slip-ons." Hrynkiw set out. Birmingham's WVTM-TV writes that:

    "He fell and rolled down a hill. He got back up. He even helped some drivers who were stuck along the way. He continued on his journey from Brookwood Medical Center to Trinity Medical Center.

    "To this 62-year-old doctor, nothing was more important than being in the operating room.

    " 'He was dying, so if he didn't have surgery he would be dead, and it's not going to happen on my shift,' Dr. Hrynkiw said."

    The News has posted video of Hrynkiw's conversation with reporters. It was only when he was about a mile from Trinity Medical Center that he was able to catch a ride for the remainder of his journey, Hrynkiw says.

    The patient, by the way, is reportedly doing well after surgery.

    Hospital officials say Hrynkiw is being modest. The News adds that:

    "Keith Granger, CEO of Trinity, said Hrynkiw is humble, but it was more of a feat than the doctor describes.

    " 'It was not just a walk in the park,' Granger said.

    "Given the conditions, the temperatures and the terrain, 'it's a remarkable physical feat and mental feat. And we have an individual alive today who wouldn't be here if not for his efforts.' "

  4. #104
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    Doctors did that back in the days of horse and buggy.

    Not today.

    Good for him.
    Libertatem Prius!


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  5. #105
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    Another of the Band Of Brothers leaves us.




    'Band of Brothers' Vet William Guarnere Dies

    March 9, 2014


    This Nov. 11, 2004 file photo shows William "Wild Bill" Guarnere participating in the Veterans Day parade in Media, Pa. Guarnere, one of the World War II veterans whose exploits were dramatized in the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died, Sunday, March 9, 2014, at the age of 90.

    William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, one of the World War II veterans whose exploits were dramatized in the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died. He was 90

    His son, William Guarnere Jr., confirmed Sunday that his father died at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Guarnere was rushed to the hospital early Saturday and died of a ruptured aneurysm early Saturday night.

    "He had a good, long life," his son said.

    The HBO miniseries, based on a book by Stephen Ambrose, followed the members of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from training in Georgia in 1942 through some of the war's fiercest European battles through the war's end in 1945.

    Its producers included Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Guarnere was portrayed by the actor Frank John Hughes.

    Guarnere, whose combat exploits earned him his nickname, lost a leg while trying to help a wounded solider during the Battle of the Bulge. His commendations included the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

    In 2007, Guarnere helped write a nationally best-selling memoir called, "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends," with fellow south Philadelphian veteran Edward J. "Babe" Heffron and journalist Robyn Post.

    William Guarnere Jr. said his father and Heffron met during the war and remained friends until Heffron died in December.

    "Now they're together again," the son said.

    Jake Powers, who operates a Band of Brothers tour company in Grafton, Mass., said Guarnere worked behind the scenes to ensure that his comrades received the recognition they deserved.

    "He did more things behind the scenes for other veterans than (for) himself," Powers said.

    Funeral arrangements were incomplete Sunday.


    As the article mentions, at least he and Babe Heffron are able to team up again.

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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    Wow...

    Not gonna see this on CNN are we?


    Texas Concealed Carry Law Saves Woman From Being Mugged

    Posted on April 30, 2014 by stevengoddard
    A 30-year-old mother is lucky today after the quick-thinking of a stranger helped save her from a mugging.


    The mother of two who was dragged across a Texas shopping center parking lot this week, clinging to her purse while two suspects in a sedan tried to snatch it.


    That’s when the stranger, who was armed, stopped the would-be thieves and forced them to lie on the ground while they waited for the police to arrive.


    Two Suspects Who Dragged Mom Across a Parking Lot Get a Swift Lesson in Texas’ Concealed Carry Law | Video | TheBlaze.com



    You won’t see this story on CNN or MSNBC. It doesn’t fit their narrative.
    h/t to Dave G
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  7. #107
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    Here's more:

    Two Suspects Who Dragged Mom Across a Parking Lot Get a Swift Lesson in Texas’ Concealed Carry Law

    Liz Klimas
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    A 30-year-old mother is lucky today after the quick-thinking of a stranger helped save her from a mugging.
    The mother of two who was dragged across a Texas shopping center parking lot this week, clinging to her purse while two suspects in a sedan tried to snatch it.
    That’s when the stranger, who was armed, stopped the would-be thieves and forced them to lie on the ground while they waited for the police to arrive.
    The stranger who helped the woman retrieve her purse, pointed a gun at the suspects while he made them lie on the ground, waiting for police to arrive. (Image source: KHOU-TV)



    “This lady opens her car door, grabs the woman’s purse and they reverse. While they’re trying to reverse, the lady is holding on to her purse still, chasing them all the way to the middle,” Brenda Vasquez, manager of a Houston Family Dollar store who witnessed the incident, told KHOU-TV. “And that good Samaritan came out, drew his weapon and scared them. And that’s when he pulled them out of the car.”


    The mother of two clung to her purse and was dragged along with the car, refusing to let go. (Image source: KHOU-TV)



    A store’s surveillance camera pointed toward the parking lot caught the scene. Watch it courtesy of KHOU:


    Video | News | Weather | SportsMon Apr 28 20:03:28 PDT 2014
    Armed good Samaritan comes to the aid of purse-snatching victim

    A mother out with her two children to go shopping became the victim of would-be purse snatchers, but a good Samaritan armed with a gun came to the rescue. view full article


    The male and female suspects, identified as 34-year-old Shamarion Diana Brooks and 48-year-old Jesse Leroy Grace were arrested by the Houston Police Department. Brooks was charged with felony possession of an unlawful substance and robbery by threat, while Grace saw felony charges of unauthorized use of motor vehicle and robbery by threat.


    Neither the mother nor the man who Vasquez called a “hero” were identified. Police department spokesman John Cannon told TheBlaze the citizen who held the suspects until officers could arrive is a witness in the case, which is why his identity is not being released.


    When asked to comment on the man’s actions, Cannon said that “the citizen did what he thought was right at the time. In some instances, witnesses do that and other times they play it safer and just get good descriptions.” The police department does not endorse one action over another Cannon said. The man’s gun was checked out by police and given back to him.


    According to KHOU, the good Samaritan bought his children some candy after the incident and drove away. Vasquez said that while the mother was scared, she was thankful for the help she received.
    Libertatem Prius!


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  8. #108
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    And another:

    Armed Husband Dishes Out ‘Lethal Dose of Texas Justice’ After Suspects Kidnap Him and His Wife, Then Force Them to Rob Bank

    Erica Ritz
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    A pair of suspected criminals got what the Huffington Post described as a “lethal dose of Texas justice” last week after allegedly kidnapping a couple and then forcing them to rob a bank.
    Investigators are not releasing the names of the couple, but believe the suspects knew the wife worked at First National Bank of Eagle Lake in Columbus, Texas, or they would’ve have staked out the couple’s home and forced her to withdraw an undisclosed amount of money from the bank after-hours.
    (Photo: KHOU-TV)

    After the robbery, police say the suspects — identified as 20-year-old Jordan Kutach and 21-year-old Preston Kutach — forced the husband to drive the group in his truck down Highway 71.
    However, they were presumably unaware that the husband had a firearm in his car. After surreptitiously accessing it, the husband shot both suspects, seriously wounding one and killing the other.
    Residents say the husband is a reserve officer with the sheriff’s department, and that the community supports him and his wife throughout this difficult time, KHOU-TV reports.
    “I’m sure that they’re both going to be upset for awhile,” resident Brenda Buehler said. “It’s a frightening thing to have happen, but I think everybody’s going to tell them good job.”
    Resident Evan Mullins added: “It’s very positive to a community to hear that the good guy does win in the end.”
    More on the story from KHOU-TV, below:
    Video | News | Weather | Sports
    Fri Aug 02 14:10:44 PDT 2013
    Husband shoots 2 bank robbery suspects who kidnapped him, his wife

    Two bank robbery suspects were shot in Colorado County Thursday night by a man who said they kidnapped him and his wife, a bank employee. view full article

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  9. #109
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    'She was a human shield': St. Louis father, mother open fire on men holding their daughter at gunpoint during attempted robbery, killing 1

    The unidentified dad killed one of the men and wounded the other during the attempted home invasion in a south St. Louis neighborhood on Monday night.

    BY Philip Caulfield
    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
    Thursday, June 12, 2014, 9:14 AM






    KTVI A St. Louis father shot two men who held his daughter at gunpoint during what appeared to be an attempted home invasion in the Bevo Hill neighborhood on Monday night.

    A Missouri dad and his wife both opened fire on two thugs who held their daughter at gunpoint during an attempted home invasion, killing one and seriously wounding the other.


    Cops said Terrell Johnson and Cortez McClinton approached the 17-year-old outside her Bevo Mill neighborhood at around 11 p.m. Monday when she came outside to get something from her car, local FOX 2 reported.


    One of the men put a gun to her head and ordered her back inside the home, where she lived with her mother.


    The 34-year-old father, who does not live there but was visiting, saw the men with his daughter and opened fire as they entered they home. His wife, also 34, also had a gun and fired a shot, but didn’t strike anyone.


    Enlarge
    Enlarge
    Terrell Johnson, 31, was shot and killed when he entered a St. Louis home holding a teenager who lived there at gunpoint. Cortez McClinton, right, was wounded.


    “He was holding her hostage like she was a human shield,” the dad, who didn’t’ give his name, told the FOX 2.



    “It just happened. I had no choice. He had my daughter, so I did what I had to do.”


    Johnson, 31, was shot and died on the living room floor, police said.


    McClinton, 33, was hit in the chest and the legs and seriously wounded. He was being treated at a hospital and charged with second-degree murder, kidnapping and burglary.

    His bail was set at $1 million.




    According to records, both men have criminal backgrounds.


    Johnson served time for armed robbery, while McClinton was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting a man in 2010, but the charges were dropped after a witness refused to cooperate, the station reported.


    The teenage girl wasn’t hurt in the ordeal.


    The father told FOX 2 he wished the violence “hadn’t happened” and apologized to the families of the men he shot as well as a neighbor whose home was struck by gunfire.


    “I didn’t mean for anybody to be involved in anything. I didn’t have any choice in the matter,” he said.
    Libertatem Prius!


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  10. #110
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    Lowe's Employees Come To The Rescue Of Disabled Vet With Broken Wheelchair

    July 11, 2014


    Employees of the nightshift at Lowe’s in Mariners Harbor, David, Marcus and Souleyman, perform repairs to Michael Sulsona’s broken wheelchair, as he watches them work.

    By Michael Sulsona of Graniteville

    In 1971, I stepped on a land mine in Vietnam and lost both legs above the knee.

    For the past two years, I have been waiting to receive a new wheelchair from the Veterans Administration. In addition, I have been told that I am not entitled to a spare wheelchair.

    On the evening of July 7, my wheelchair fell apart again, while shopping at Lowe's Home Improvement Center in on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor.

    Three employees, David, Marcus and Souleyman jumped to my assistance immediately. They placed me in another chair while they went to work.

    They took the wheelchair apart and replaced the broken parts and told me, "We're going to make this chair like new."

    I left 45 minutes after closing hours in my wheelchair that was like new.

    I kept thanking them and all they could say was, "It was our honor."

    The actions of these three employees at Lowe's showed me there are some who still believe in stepping to the plate.

    They didn't ask any questions, didn't feel the need to fill out any forms or make phone calls. Someone needed help and they felt privileged to be given the opportunity.

  11. #111
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    Default Re: Heroes...Alive and Dead

    Not that it's particularly relevant to the story, but I wonder what was broken. It's not like Lowes has anything but off the shelf replacement parts. If the chair needed new bearings or axel shaft or whatever, good luck finding it there.
    "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
    -- Theodore Roosevelt


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    FNC reported on this.

    Said a bolt broke and the employees not only replaced the broken bolt but also replaced some other nuts-n-bolts issues with the chair.

    VA supposedly just gave him a new chair after the news on them not being forthcoming with a new chair came out of this. Some "smart" manager probably decided it best to head this news off at the pass with the small cost of a new chair rather than having it add to the disgust with the VA already out there.

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    No worries, Ryan. It already added to the disgust.
    Libertatem Prius!


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  14. #114
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    Last Surviving Enola Gay Crewman Dies In Stone Mountain, Georgia

    July 29, 2014

    The last surviving crewman of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, died overnight at his Stone Mountain home.

    Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, 93, was the navigator on the Aug. 6, 1945 flight that dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb.

    With the 2010 death of Morris Jeppson, Van Kirk became the only one of the dozen crew members left.

    For a number of years, he lived at a retirement community in Stone Mountain where by chance he found himself sharing the place with James Starnes, an Atlantan who had a front-row seat at history. Starnes was the navigator on the USS Missouri and the mighty battleship’s officer of the deck on Sept. 2, 1945 who greeted Japanese officials boarding to officially surrender.

    “We were two individuals who happened to be at historic dates,” said Starnes, who said his friend died Monday after being hospitalized for a few weeks. “The passing always hurts so much. I told someone today that this was the first time I shed a tear for someone in a long time.”

    Starnes learned that Van Kirk was living in Stone Mountain from a Time Magazine article. A mutual friend who also lived in the retirement community introduced them.

    For more than a decade, the two men put on “dog-and-pony” talks around metro Atlanta about the two events that ended World War II. The two became close friends, Starnes told The Atlanta Journal Constitution Tuesday.

    “I like to say Dutch ended the war, and I made it official — got them to sign on the dotted line,” Starnes told The AJC in 2010. “He was very responsible for the success of the bomb drop.”

    A native of Pennsylvania, Van Kirk joined the Army Air Corps before Pearl Harbor, and became a navigator after washing out as a pilot.

    After World War II, Van Kirk returned home and had a long career as an executive with DuPont.

    Officials at the Park Springs Retirement Community in Stone Mountain Tuesday afternoon confirmed Van Kirk’s death.

    Tom Wages Funeral Home in Snellville will be handling arrangements.



    Those men on that crew helped save millions of American and Japanese lives.

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    Watch As A Hero Trucker Saves Family From Crash, Explosion, Inferno

    August 18, 2014



    Last Monday, a Lincoln Towncar carrying a woman and her one-year-old granddaughter T-boned an 18-wheeler after attempting to merge. The huge resulting crash, massive explosion, and raging inferno is the trifecta of horror for any driver. Or, at least it would be, if not for one heroic truck driver.

    David Fredericksen, the trucker recording the video on his dashcam, immediately jumped out to save the occupants inside the car, as his son explained in the video description:


    A car t-bones a semi truck on I10 near Biloxi, Mississippi. The car struck the fuel tank of the semi causing a large fire ball. The doors of the car were jammed shut and the driver suffering a broken leg could not exit the vehicle.

    Luckily my father had a fire extinguisher on hand to fight back the flames and give enough time to pull the driver and her 1 year old granddaughter out of the flaming vehicle. Once the passengers are free from the vehicle the flames rapidly grow in strength consuming the vehicle.

    Thankfully my father had the presence of mind, bravery, and forethought of carrying a fire extinguisher, to be the first person on scene to risk his own life in order to possibly save another and to inspire others and lead them into taking action. Everyone involved in the rescue effort is a hero in my books.

    Everyone involved managed to survive, though the grandmother involved did receive a broken leg for her troubles. But seriously, this explosion was ridiculously humongous, and it's amazing that anyone survived, let alone without serious injury:



    Speaking to David on the phone, it's clear that this is not an every day occurrence for most truckers. He bought the dashcam six months before, after watching another truck roll after its driver fell asleep. This accident was much different, but he doesn't feel like he was the only one out there last week.

    "I don't feel it's heroic," he said. "Really what I feel is when I first got out of the truck, I was praying that they wouldn't be dead. I just wanted to put the fire out, but when I saw they were alive, I was like "SWEET!"

    But even then, it was incredible to see that not only had the occupants of the Towncar survived, but that they were fighting to get out as David and others rushed to help them.

    "I was praying to myself. I really didn't want to have to see somebody dead," he added. Other people would've done what I did."

    As he approached the Lincoln, he saw the driver desperately trying to kick out the door, despite her broken leg. David, who is not a small guy, yanked open the door, only to find the baby girl in the back seat. Her carseat had actually been launched from one side of the car to the other, which miraculously also cleared her from the immediate danger of the flames.

    His co-driver, who jumped out after him, grabbed the girl from the seat after David pulled her out.

    "She was the cutest little thing, too," he said. "She was hugging him so tight she was choking him."

    "I'm just glad that they didn't die, you know?"

    Even still, David said that he himself isn't entirely sure what motivated to get him out of his truck before anyone else:


    I trusted in God when I went there. It could've blown up and killed me. He's got a plan for me, because after I got back to the truck my hands were shaking. My actions were because of my love for God and love for people. Because it does make a difference. If anyone learns anything from it, I want them to know, if they see these trucks out there, they're not bad people with aggressive drivers.

    They're good people.

    And David's right. If you ever need an argument for why truckers are good people, you've got plenty of evidence right here.

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    A Blind Man, His Guide Dog and Lessons Learned On 9/11

    By Michael Hingson
    FoxNews.com


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    Ten years ago, on September 11, 2001, I was working at my desk on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I stood up to grab some letterhead from the supply cabinet when I heard a tremendous BOOM! It was 8:46 a.m.
    I was one of many thousands of people in the World Trade Center that day.
    I had a good job that allowed me and my wife Karen to pay the bills and have a good life. But unlike almost everyone else in the building that day, I am blind and use a guide dog. When the terrorist-hijacked plane plowed into the building above our heads, Roselle was snoozing under my desk.
    After the impact, the building shuddered and Roselle decided it was time to wake up. She emerged from under my desk, yawned, and quietly sat, waiting. Time to go to work. “Forward,” I said softly. Forward is used when setting off with the dog in harness, and it’s one of the very first commands all guide dogs are taught.
    Roselle and I headed out of the office and navigated smoothly through the confusion, smoke, and noise.
    Each tower had three stairwells. We ended up in the center at Stairwell B. Roselle was calm as ever and did not sense any danger in the flames, smoke, or anything else around us. I chose to trust her judgment because Roselle and I were a team. I clutched Roselle’s harness and with focus and confidence we headed down the 1,463 stairs to fresh air and freedom. We didn’t know that the worst was yet to come.
    My life changed that day because of the beliefs and actions of a few zealots who though they had all the answers and who imagined the murderous violence that destroyed the center of New York City would bend the world to their will. They did not win, however. Love, trust, and teamwork did.
    For the last ten years I have been sharing my story as a way to make sense of the attacks and devastation our country endured and to challenge people to move forward. In a way, the economic and political problems we are facing might sometimes feel like that hot, packed, claustrophobic stairwell laced with the overpowering stench of jet fuel. Here are some things that helped Roselle and I make it out safely.
    Teamwork is crucial. When the heroes of Flight 93 banded together, created a plan and carried out that plan, they changed history and saved lives.
    Ground Zero was the center of countless examples of teamwork as first responders and ordinary citizens risked their lives to find survivors and tended to those who made it out alive.
    In the days and weeks after 9/11, we came together as a nation behind our president and supported his efforts to hunt down those who had attacked us.
    But, somehow over time our sense of teamwork broke down, victim to the uncompromising divisions of our leaders with increasing numbers of us incurring debt and loss from which we may never recover.
    I yearn for us to recover that sense of community forged in the fires of September 11, that sense of common ground and common commitment to keep our nation strong and come to reasonable solutions to our problems.
    In the stairwell, we found ways to work together to hold back panic. We were forced to stop often and we took those opportunities to encourage each other with a quiet word, a joke, or a gentle pat on the back.
    Roselle did her part, giving doggie kisses to each and every firefighter who climbed past us up the stairs. Most of us in that stairwell were strangers but we trusted each other, we worked together, and we survived.
    Today it seems as if our leaders don’t trust each other and we as citizens don’t trust our leaders. To get out of the stairwell alive, as a nation, we must choose to trust those leaders who must also work hard earn our trust through wise and timely decision making.
    But more important even than teamwork and trust is this: love. Jesus taught us to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
    After the terrorist attacks, love and good will poured out on us from the world over. Today, instead I see much animosity and hatred. No matter our differences, we must choose to love and respect those with whom we have disagreements. Debate is important and leads to wise solutions to our problems but it must be carried out in love.
    I cannot help thinking of the loving bond I have experienced with each of my seven guide dogs. It is true that dogs love unconditionally so long as they are not mistreated. Even unconditional love by dogs will fade through constant mistrust and abuse. Love is a choice. We will never be loved by others unless we are willing to love first.
    Ten years later, I know this. Sometimes the way is hard, but if we work together, we will make it down the stairs. Don’t stop until the work is over; sometimes being a hero is just doing your job. The dust cloud won’t last forever. Trust your team, keep going and look for the way out. It will come. Then, like Roselle, shake off the dust and move on. Forward.
    Michael Hingson is the author of the new book, "Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero" (Thomas Nelson). You can find out more about Michael at http://www.michaelhingson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MHingson or on Facebook: Roselle the 9/11 Guide Dog.
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  17. #117
    Creepy Ass Cracka & Site Owner Ryan Ruck's Avatar
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    Wow, all these years later and after seeing countless survivor accounts, somehow, that was one I had not heard before. Particularly amazing because not only was he in the first tower hit but overcoming his disability to get out with his guide dog.

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    Not sure if shouldn't file this one under "stupid criminals" .... or dumb heroes. LOL

    FL Homeowner Pretends to Have a Gun and Captures Three Burglary Suspects

    10/02/2014
    fuzzysdad01 Uncategorized ABC13, Guns Save Lives, homeowner in Florida, HUGE Brass Pair. Leave a comment
    This is from Guns Save Lives.
    This man has a HUGE Brass Pair.
    I would not want to bet my life that this bluff would have worked.

    A homeowner in Florida apparently didn’t even need a gun to capture burglary suspects in his home late last week.
    The man came home to find three masked intruders in his home. He acted quickly and called police, however that wasn’t the only action he took.
    According to ABC13,
    The man said he grabbed a knife, put it under his shirt and faked like he had a gun.
    “I’ll shoot him in the f****** head,” he told the burglary suspects while on the phone with police. “You stay right there – don’t move. You stay on the ground.”
    The man then forced the three into a closet and locked the door.
    “Look at the wall,” he told them. “Don’t you look out of that closet. You look at that damn wall.”
    Police arrested all three of the suspects, two of whom were juveniles.
    We’re not filing this one as a defensive gun use since no physical gun was used, but it is a great story that illustrates how the mere presence of a firearm (or in this case just the thought of a firearm), can defuse a criminal situation
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    WWII Veteran, 98, Dons Uniform For Final Salute

    November 14, 2014


    This Nov. 11, 2014 photo provided courtesy of Nancy McKiernan of Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Glenville, N.Y., shows 98-year-old World War II veteran Justus Belfield saluting on Veterans Day. The Daily Gazette of Schenectady reports Belfield had worn his Army uniform every Veterans Day since he and his wife moved into the nursing home outside Albany several years ago. On Tuesday, the former master sergeant wasn't able to get out of bed to participate in the facility's Veterans Day festivities, so he had the staff dress him in his uniform. Belfield passed away the next day.

    On Veterans Day, Justus Belfield donned his Army uniform one more time, even though he was too weak to leave his bed at an upstate New York nursing home.

    The 98-year-old World War II veteran died the next day.

    The Daily Gazette of Schenectady reports (http://bit.ly/1v95WZQ ) that Belfield had worn his uniform every Veterans Day since he and his wife moved into Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Glenville, outside Albany, several years ago. On Tuesday, the former master sergeant wasn't able to get out of bed to participate in the facility's Veterans Day festivities, so he had the staff dress him in his uniform.

    A photograph accompanying the newspaper's story published Friday shows Belfield saluting while lying in bed. The nursing home staff said he died early Wednesday morning.

    Belfield, originally from Utica, spent 16 years in the Army, including a stint in Europe where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He also served during the Korean War when he worked as a recruiter in Syracuse. Belfield told the newspaper last year that he never regretted serving in the military.

    "It was a good thing to do," he said in the interview on Veterans Day last year. "I loved it because it was my country. It's still my country."

    Ailing health prevented Belfield from participating in October's Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials. Instead, local veterans presented Belfield with an Honor Flight T-shirt in his room at the nursing home, according to Albany's WTEN-TV, which reported his death Wednesday.

    Barbara Bradt, activities director at the nursing home, said Belfield had "such a spark for life."

    "He taught me no matter how old you are, you keep going, you put a smile on your face and you just appreciate every day because that's what he did." She said.

    Belfield and his wife, Lillian, have six children, 18 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.

    He was buried Friday with military honors at Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery.

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    World War II Vet Returns To France 60 Years Later To Realize He's Become A European Legend

    This lengthy video was posted nearly two years ago, but has gone viral in honor of Veterans Day. World War II veteran Vince Speranza retells the intriguing story when he served in Bastogne, France fighting the Nazis. While helping tend to the wounded, he was asked by a hurt soldier for a drink.

    Incredibly, he found a broken down tavern nearby that had beer on the tap still. With no glasses or bottles around, he used his helmet to carry the beer to his friends. He never imagined that his beer serving technique would become a European legend later in life.


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