Heroes are often the ones who have superpowers and who fought off evil villains. I never considered anyone who is well known to be a hero because they did not have superpowers and did not possess stereotypical superhero qualities like the characters in movies or TV shows, until I read about Pat Tillman. In 2002, Pat Tillman left a successful football career with the Arizona Cardinals to join the U.S. Army. I believe that sacrifice contributes more to heroism than success because giving up a passion for something else makes one realize what is truly more important to oneself.
Consider, for example, Pat Tilman who gave up his football career in 2002, to serve in the military and help defend his country as he realized football is insignificant to society. As seen in John Krakauer’s book, Where Men Win Glory, Pat Tillman says that “These last few years, and especially after recent events, I’ve come to appreciate just how shallow and insignificant my role is. I’m no longer satisfied with the path I’ve been following . . . it’s no longer important”(Tillman). Pat Tillman states his point of view on his career and role saying that it is “shallow and insignificant” in the grand scheme of life. In other words, he is saying football, the sport that has been considered significant is not quite significant.
This goes against the stereotypical American culture and the fact that Tillman is saying this from the point of an NFL player shows that he is not a follower, rather he is a leader, which is the quality of a hero. Tillman choose to sacrifice a fulfilling life and choose to join the U.S. Army, to fight Al Qaeda. As seen in Krakauer’s book Where Men Win Glory, Tillman talked about his life and he mentioned that his “life at this point is relatively easy. It is my belief that I could continue to play football for the next seven or eight years and create a very comfortable lifestyle for not only Marie and Myself, but be afforded the luxury of helping out family or friends should a need ever arise”(Tillman). Tillman did what he loved as his job, to play football as this career allowed him to provide for himself as well as his family and friends, but he did not feel like it was enough or like he was making a difference. He decided to quit his job, and sacrifice his comfort to go to war to fight for his country, which is a courageous and selfless act.
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Another display of everyday heroism was the monumental sacrifice soldiers made in wars like WWII. During WWII, countless Allied soldiers put their lives on the line for the good of their country. Others simply offered themselves up in order to save comrades. But still, even in this time of true heroism, the story of John Robert Fox stands out. The artillery officer John Fox earned himself a Medal of Honor for the sacrifice he made one December day in 1944, when he was thousands of miles away from home. Fox was assigned to stay in the small village of Sommocolonia, in Tuscany.
The village had already been invaded by the Nazis, which caused the American soldiers to retreat. However, Fox found a place to hide, and he used the radio to contact his comrade. He called for artillery fire to be directed at the village in order to give the US forces time to regroup and launch a counterattack. Fox specifically ordered the artillery fire to fire on his exact (location or position?). However, the gunner who received the message assumed that it must be a mistake so he pointed this out to him and fox simply said: “Fire it. There’s more of them than there are us”(“John R. Fox”).
