HEROES and HEROICS

From My Perspective - - -

It seems as though there is an over-abundance of bad news that has become a constant in terms of media reporting. When American and Allied wounded and killed in Iraq occurred, the news reports barraged us with the body count. While we should have been aware of those being wounded and killed in the conflict, there is very little reporting of the positives, such as, (a) the success of the surge; (b) the rebuilding of the infra-structure; (c) the free and non-intimidating elections being held; (d) the government nearing attainment of the 18 benchmarks; (e) the numbers of girls and children in schools; (f) the greater freedom and rights for women; (g) the improvement and dependability of the Iraqi Army and Police; etc. Rather than General Patraeus being besmirched by the poster that referred to him as General “Betray-us”, he should’ve been and should be viewed as a gifted General and Hero.

We don’t seem to have time for Heroes in real life anymore. We have had generations who fantasized about the heroics of Superman, Batman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider Man, etc. We don’t seem to have time and space for the true and real Heroes of our time and recent history. A report is now circulating the Internet about Ed Freeman.

“You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses. And, he kept coming back…13 more times…And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise, ID.”

Consider these things with me - - - A Hero is a special individual. The American Heritage Dictionary defines Heroes as: “A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life…” in a noble cause and/or effort. Warfare and Tragedy have a way of producing Heroes. Certain occupations depend on those who are willing to risk life and well-being as they endeavor to come to the aid of others – Firefighters come immediately to mind. There are great instances of Heroes in the Holy Scriptures. Some who come to mind are Moses; Abraham; Joshua; Nehemiah; Esther; Gideon; Elijah; Hezekiah; etc. But the greatest hero of all was a man from Nazareth named Jesus Christ. He would bear the sin of the world and pay the full penalty for your sin and mine. In II Corinthians 5:19-21, we read this summary about Jesus Christ: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them….God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” What an act of Grace and Mercy! God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him forever in His Heaven! And, Jesus Christ was willing to be the once-for-all sacrifice for sin! What a Wonderful Hero! What a Wonderful King! What a Wonderful Savior! What a Wonderful Risen Lord!