April 21, 2013, - 10:42 pm

Boston Marathon Hero Inflation: Is Calling 911 “Heroic” Just b/c Terrorist is Hiding in Your Boat?

By Debbie Schlussel

David Henneberry is not a “hero” for calling 911 and reporting that an intruder was on his property, despite all of the media telling you so. The Watertown, Massachusetts resident is not a hero, regardless of the fact that the intruder was a dangerous Islamic terrorist, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In fact, the boat owner is especially not a hero for reporting his discovery to police, because it was his responsibility to report that the terrorist murderer who caused Boston Marathon carnage was hiding on his property. Unfortunately, while Henneberry did what he was supposed to do–did the responsible thing–he is being hailed as a “hero” for it, as if it was something extra–some great act of valor. It was not. Again, it was expected and his responsibility, not heroic. And this is not his fault (since he seems to be a modest, decent guy). It’s the media’s, which pinned him with this inflated status.

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But that’s the problem these days, and it’s a problem I’ve frequently noted on this site over the years. We’ve inflated every minute action to heroism when it isn’t. We’ve equated victim status–such as Gabby Giffords having been shot in the head–as some sort of heroism. It ain’t. Heroism isn’t doing what you should do–doing what you’re supposed to do. It’s doing something super-extra beyond that, something that involves sacrifice on the part of the hero. That just wasn’t the case here. If David Henneberry hadn’t reported the Tsarnaev sighting on his property, he’d be an accomplice, not just a guy doing what he was supposed to do . . . unless “no snitchin'” is now the norm in liberal, gun-controlled, sanctuary citified, “diversity”-obsessive, Buy-the-World-a-Coke, “Boston Strong”-BS shouting, “COEXIST”ive suburban Boston.

And perhaps we’ve reached that point because on Friday Morning, a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, said on CNN that he immediately recognized him from the “suspect” photos the FBI released, but didn’t contact authorities because he “didn’t want to throw jim under the bus,” even upon learning that his friend is the one who murdered three people at the Boston Marathon, and seriously maimed nearly 200 more. And, so in this no-snitchin’, liberal America, saying nothing is the new normal, and doing what is merely your civic responsibility as member of society is now “USA! USA!” heroism. And since that’s the case, it’s nothing to cheer about, USA.


No problem with the people around the world who wanna buy Henneberry a new boat to replace the one damaged because the Islamic terrorist hid in it. That’s nice and is a tribute to the good will and charity of the American people (who are the majority of those driving the new boat funding effort online). But he ain’t a hero for reporting the guy. Responsible citizen, definitely. Anything beyond that. Nope. Sorry.

Even though gold recently made a huge drop in the market, I’m sure you can remember the non-stop commercials about the price of gold being at an all-time high. You’d be better advised to buy hero inflation. That’s what’s really at an all-time high.

And I guarantee it won’t be coming down anytime soon. Just ask David Henneberry.




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46 Responses

They have been overworking the term “Hero” lately. Until recently, when I heard the term hero, I would think of people like Sgt York (WW1), Audie Murphy (WW2), or Sgt Benevides (Vietnam), all people who either killed large numbers of enemy and/or saved lives by putting their lives at risk. When I was in Army basic training, and a drill instructor would see you do something dangerously stupid, he would ask you: “Do you want to be a hero?” That is because the other way to get hero status quick is to come home in a body bag. I suppose even a good thing can become a bad thing with enough repetition, spin and just plain running it into the ground.

RT on April 21, 2013 at 10:53 pm

I am more shocked that the “friend” said that! My jaw literally dropped as I read that! Maybe that’s why boring and derivative professional pervert Amanda Palmer can write embarrassing and treacly poetry for Dzhokhar The Jihadist. Of course it never occurred to that Libtard fraud to write a nice poem for the victims, she writes maudlin & nutty word vomit because she is more on par with evil twits than innocent victims. Frauds love to swim with other frauds.

I am glad that peeps are contributing to buy him a new boat. That is nice. But DS, I know you are right about hero inflation because I know Watertown and the residents will mimic how the media portrays him. I can hear them now. Watertown is a town like that.

This country is just so lost. Sometimes I get demoralized and sometimes it makes me feisty, but I just hate what I see.

That his friend would say that is so disturbing to me. It shouldn’t be he’s an evil SOB in my book for being a ween and a protector of evil. Disgrazia!

Skunky on April 21, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    Rats! I keep missing whole words today…it should read…”It shouldn’t be because he’s an evil SOB in my book….” Sorry!

    Skunky on April 21, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Maybe the media were comparing him with the government flaks who are supposed to be protecting us.

Little Al on April 22, 2013 at 12:31 am

    How long until this creature is brought to trial? I fear another “Major Hassan” situation. The waters are already being muddied by the incompetent “Leadership” in Washington along with the mediapimps in the state run media. The “Excuses and blame us” people are out in full force. This animal should have been “Shot while trying to escape,” rather than start up the “Perpetrator as victim” media machine. The worst of the worst was the constant “Press conferences” with everyone from the governor down to the owner of the local convenience store who brought free coffee. I found it very interesting that the Fumbling Bureau of Incompetence agent did NOT us the word “Terrorism” in his first press conference – same as the golfer-in-chief. Under great pressure, the vacationer-in-chief used the word “Terrorism” – twice – in a hurriedly put together second teleprompter event. Only then did the 100% politicized FBI use the word “Terrorism.” I’m sure this act of war against our country will be met with the usual show of weakness. My suggestion to the people of Massachusetts? Arm yourselves. Take responsibility for your own safety. Do you think a police officer is armed to protect you? Wrong. It is to protect him – and I have no problem with that. A .40 cal. bullet will move much more quickly than a squad car responding to a 911 call. Wake up and take responsibility. The government cannot and will not protect you. If this Constitutionally mandated responsibility was taken seriously by Obama, holder, etc., people would not be let beck in the country after, as in this case, our authorities were notified by Russian intelligence that the one brother had received training for terrorism in Chechnya. My guess is that the administration did not want to upset thee the ISLAMIC TERRORISM “Community.” After all, I’m sure they vote democrat.

    Victoryman on April 22, 2013 at 9:08 am

And speaking of gold, I wonder if all the conservative-phony talk show fakes who ran those commercials will apologize to their listeners for running these deliberately deceptive commercials, that anyone with an IQ over 85 could see were too good to be true.

Little Al on April 22, 2013 at 12:35 am

    That’s right Little Al! Gold, like a home, is only worth what a person (or any fool) will pay you for it. When everything goes to pot, gold will NOT be bartered but food, skills and goods will be.

    They sure made it sound tempting. I knew the facts and I would even question myself. But the truth is the truth in the end.

    Skunky on April 22, 2013 at 11:40 am

Debbie even when the kid was lying wounded in the boat under the tarp I thought the FBI might let him go for lack of proof and blame the Russians. Debbie the feds let this go on because only a few Republicans like Peter King even try to hold them accountable. They rather Coexist.

A1: Peter King has never done a thing to make anyone accountable. He sure does like to grandstand before the cameras, though. And yet, after the cameras and lights are gone, it’s biz as usual for him and he does nothing to put his grandstanding statements into action. DS

A1 on April 22, 2013 at 1:48 am

At least because of Him, the suspect finally captured.so tell me what yours contribution Debbie? nothing. all you can do is blame the government, blame the media, blame specific group , it just blame, blame and blame! what a pathetic person!

Bestori Gultom on April 22, 2013 at 3:12 am

Bestori Gultom:

Why the F**K you don’t take care of your Islamic Indonesian problems and leave us alone. It seems you missed the whole point of the article you pathetic idiot.

The truth is more important than the facts and you missed both. What a waste of air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daniel. on April 22, 2013 at 3:31 am

A hero is someone who risks his life to save others, above and beyond the call of duty.

Even if I did that, I would still shun the label. In my view, doing the moral thing, the right thing, merits no special reward or recognition. Being a decent person should be reward enough.

Its always struck me as insincere if a hero means being a glory hound. In today’s attention-seeking culture, the most important thing is not doing doing your duty or even going beyond that, its getting your Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame.

I can appreciate human nature and the desire to stand out. But hero inflation is well – inflation that is about as justified as grade school inflation. It tells us nothing about a person’s true worth or accomplishments in life.

Debbie is right David Henneberry is definitely a responsible citizen. But that doesn’t make him a hero.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 3:52 am

I should add that in all the stories of the Righteous Of The Nations that came out of the Holocaust that I read about – the very few who risked their lives to save Jews, the one thing that stood out in every case about them was the self-effacement of these beautiful people – they did it because it was what they thought a decent person should do for another human being. And knowing you could die for rescuing a Jew, it certainly wasn’t act that would make you special. The only special about the Righteous was that they simply did the right thing when they could have taken the easy way out like most people did – which was to do nothing.

That in my opinion is what separates the decent person from the proverbial bystander, who won’t act out of a sense of self-preservation. If I had lived back then and rescued Jews, I would have said it was my duty to save people in danger of death and I did it because G-d expected it of me to do all I could do to save them. The true test of being a true hero isn’t about fame; it about making the right choice when you can blend in with the crowd.

Sadly, there were few people like that alive back then and there are even fewer people like that alive today. Its just expedient and easier to do nothing – which is what most people do in a dangerous situation. Saving the lives of others when there is no gain to be had from it, that is what is truly extraordinary, not because a decent person should be extraordinary but because defying the norms of one’s time or exceeding what’s in keeping in with human nature is what stands out for most people.

If we were all saints, there would be nothing to write home about. There are people who evil and there are also people who are truly beautiful to the extent that all the words in the words in the world cannot begin to do justice to the depth of their character. True heroes are like that and its like love at first sight – you don’t have to have the hero described; that person’s actions describe him to the world and to posterity.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 4:21 am

I’m reposting it for corrections:

I should add that in all the stories of the Righteous Of The Nations that came out of the Holocaust that I read about – the very few who risked their lives to save Jews, the one thing that stood out in every case about them was the self-effacement of these beautiful people – they did it because it was what they thought a decent person should do for another human being. And knowing you could die for rescuing a Jew, it certainly wasn’t an act that would make you special. The only thing truly special about the Righteous was that they simply did the right thing when they could have taken the easy way out like most people did – which was to do nothing.

That in my opinion is what separates the decent person from the proverbial bystander, who won’t act out of a sense of self-preservation. If I had lived back then and rescued Jews, I would have said it was my duty to save people in danger of death and I did it because G-d expected it of me to do all I could do to save them. The true test of being a true hero isn’t about fame; it about making the right choice when you can blend in with the crowd.

Sadly, there were few people like that alive back then and there are even fewer people like that alive today. Its just expedient and easier to do nothing – which is what most people do in a dangerous situation. Saving the lives of others when there is no gain to be had from it, that is what is truly extraordinary, not because a decent person should be extraordinary but because defying the norms of one’s time or exceeding what’s in keeping in with human nature is what stands out for most people.

If we were all saints, there would be nothing to write home about. There are people who are evil and there are also people who are truly beautiful to the extent that all the words in the words in the world cannot begin to do justice to the depth of their character. True heroes are like that and its like love at first sight – you don’t have to have the hero described; that person’s actions describe him to the world and to posterity.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 4:33 am

When people get prizes for PARTICIPATING in sports (rather then winning) do not be surprised when people get called HEROES for doing nothing more then their civic duty…

Hans on April 22, 2013 at 6:16 am

The old saying came to mind in reading your comments and after I go over and over again about what i wrote, which in essence is that “heroes are made, not born.” Its the circumstance that create the hero not that is something that is immediately apparent. To put it in other words, the best judge of our souls is reflected in our actions and only when those actions are seen, do others know then what G-d truly knows is inside our hearts.

It is more than duty; its a special nobility of a kind not seen in the world that makes the hero seem like an angel sent from heaven in the eyes of men.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 6:29 am

Not only is he not a hero, he may have in fact protecting his home and family from harm by reporting this. That would make this an act of self preservation, definitely not heroism.

I_AM_ME on April 22, 2013 at 8:17 am

I couldn’t agree more.
If the guy had a pair, he’d have been standing in the overwatch position with a cocked and loaded weapon. Not waiting 30 minutes for the cops and media to show up. He’s probably never had his hands on a real weapon in that town from the look of things. Clowns.
Hero? Maybe more of a libtard. But at least he did call the cops instead of the “don’t get involved” option so many people elect to engage.

samurai on April 22, 2013 at 8:24 am

Deb–

He is a “hero” only because the public is desperate for heroes, after being let down by the sports and entertainment idiots, and even by their savior, Mr. Obama.

Yep, buyer’s remorse is settling in even for the dimmest of the liberals.

Prometheus on April 22, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Sports “heroes” aren’t heroes. They’re just athletes and that’s all. Americans shouldn’t be looking up to these people just b/c they are good athletes. Celebrity worship is a big problem in our society and it’s a form of idol worship.

    David on April 22, 2013 at 9:14 am

      David you are so right , everyday stuff is measured as heroic by these emotionally charged, do nothing idiots that need these sports figures to justify their grovelling asses…..false idolization is everywhere in this society. If I were forced to have one though it would be Debbie.

      Bernard Downey on April 22, 2013 at 3:18 pm

I can’t wait to hear what actor will be playing this hero. I’m sure it will be a “gutsy performance.”

Jimmie L on April 22, 2013 at 8:51 am

he could have done nothing just like the majority of the population….in that respect he IS a hero….jmho

littletxlady on April 22, 2013 at 8:59 am

A hero is someone who risks his life, limb, or fortune, to help or save others, with no expected benefit to himself.

Hence, Remember the pilot named “Scully,” who landed the passenger plane in the East River to save the crew and passengers. He was a great pilot, but not a hero, because he was saving his life as well as the passengers.

There are great pilots and great people, but few heroes.

Debbie, once again, is right.

Jonathan E. Grant on April 22, 2013 at 9:06 am

    Jon, it was the HUDSON River, a much more formidable body of water but I get your point although I’m a bit conflicted. The reason is because Sully knew he had a good chance of dying even if he saved the passengers. He was ditching into some very hard water. Surface tension at that speed and height creates a pretty resistant surface, not a yielding one. If he didn’t get the angle right, the cockpit would have been crushed although the fuselage might have mostly survived. So he did put aside concern for his safety and took the risk. He could have just panicked and given up. It wasn’t a perfect act of heroism but it was pretty close.

    Italkit on April 22, 2013 at 6:57 pm

Those who rushed in to help the injured, at the risk that their might have been a second bomb to kill the rescuers, were heroes.

Jonathan E. Grant on April 22, 2013 at 9:08 am

Debbie. This is a great article. Keeping things in perspective is a lost art today. Everything is “Bread and circuses,” keep the sheeple entertained by hyping events, people, etc. Witness the 24/7 coverage of the Arias trial. Everyone today is either a victim or a hero – nothing in between. I suppose the people in what I call the , “Press conference parade” would be heroes for coming before the cameras to babble away. This was the worst part of our response to the ISLAMIC TERRORIST, AL QUEADA sponsored acts. Now the main thrust of the state run media is to give immediate cover to the golfer-in-chief. I suppose he is a hero for going to Boston to make a speech – which sounded a lot like the “Benghazi cover up” propaganda. There was also a disaster in Waco, TX. I’m sure the vacationer-in-chief will NOT get on his “Snazzy ride” (His words) and head to Waco. He won’t go for three reasons. 1. Waco, in his view, is populated by ignorant, red necked Bible reading gun owners who don’t believe in global warming. 2. If he went, it would remind us of the government murders of the Branch Dividians, including “The children.” This travesty was under the that great Attorney General, Janet (Jack) Reno, who assigned responsibility for the operation to her trusted right hand…..Eric Holder. 3. It’s golf/basketball/party time – again – at the White House, so travel is out of the question

Victoryman on April 22, 2013 at 9:24 am

I notice that this devaluation of what it means to be a hero is occurring concurrently with the degradation of our traditional military and law enforcement.

The so-called elite in our society have been on a campaign for several decades now to downplay, and even villainize the traditional feats for which our armed forces and police used to receive praise for. Not coincidentally, these accomplishments are traditionally considered masculine. Now, instead of being praised, these real heroes are lucky if they are not put in jail.

So like our holidays, and like patriotism, the concept of heroism has to be redefined. And this is what we are left with.

Little Al on April 22, 2013 at 10:02 am

The “hero” thing is part of the diversion tactics that make it easier to avoid addressing the REAL newsworthy issues of the Boston Marathon crimes.

The real issue is the security of Americans against terrorism and what our government has been doing or NOT doing to prevent it. And in this particular case, the real issue was what was the FBI doing when it interviewed Tsarnaev 5 years ago and continued to work closely with him up to the Boston Marathon crimes? And when the FBI received information from Russian Intelligence 2 years ago about Tsarnaev and his terrorist associations, what then did the FBI do or NOT do. And finally, why did the FBI PRETEND that they did not know who the Tsarnaev brothers were when they saw all those photographs of them at the Boston Marathon?

These are the REAL disturbing questions. The media, apparently, working hand-in-hand with the FBI, is definitely NOT asking these critical questions. But the media STILL has to fill the airways with something that they purport to call “news” or “information,” so that THEY can also pretend to be doing their jobs, as the FBI has pretended. The tragedy “angle” of the crimes has already been thoroughly covered. So now you have the hero “angle.” And if you have to make that up, then so be it, according to the media.

Note: there are some alternative media outlets that ARE asking these critical questions, but they have been effectively neutralized as “kooks,” even though many established news outlets have confirmed many of the facts that they’ve raised.

Ralph Adamo on April 22, 2013 at 10:16 am

Doing what you should do in a given situation has become alien to many Americans. Genuine heroism has become so incredibly rare that acting decently and showing civic responsibility has been elevated to the status of heroism.

Worry01 on April 22, 2013 at 10:35 am

A real hero wold have shot the f*&^%$# bomber in the head while he was hiding in the boat.

P: Amen to that. DS

Panhandle on April 22, 2013 at 10:37 am

    @ Panhandle:

    My thoughts EXACTLY! A REAL “hero” woulda blown this piece of shat away with s ashotgun! If one can still have one in MA!

    Cicero's Ghost (NB) on April 22, 2013 at 4:04 pm

would

Panhandle on April 22, 2013 at 10:42 am

Is ICE/HSI going to initiate denaturalization proceedings against this turd Dzhokhar? Within 5 years of naturalizing, if you commit an act of subversion against the U.S. we can take away your citizenship. He can then be sent to GITMO and interrogated correctly. I’d like to hear ICE’s excuse for not doing so. How about the dead muslim terrorist’s Burka Baby Momma, arrest her hijab-ass for providing material or financial support to a terrorist. These two things should happen but I doubt they will, ICE is too afraid and the FBI is too incompetent to do so.

The Truth on April 22, 2013 at 10:43 am

Debbie the word hero is given out to easily. This person just did what he was suppose to do. Keep up the good work

Richard on April 22, 2013 at 10:51 am

Debbie, you ought to hear my pal who’s retired from Denver PD talk about this affectation to blather on about ‘hero’

But especially you ought to hear him rant about being kept back from Columbine HS. Ordered to set up a perimeter and wait instead of … as he says … pulling his weapon and confronting the danger head on. “That’s what cops are paid to do!” he shouts, “We’re paid to put our lives on the line. THAT DOES NOT make us heroes!”

There’s a lot more, but I’ll stop there.

Jack on April 22, 2013 at 11:28 am

Jon agrees with Debbie and me and as for David Henneberry, one takes nothing away from him, he’s an all-around decent guy.

If you want to pin the blame, put it on the media. They want a case which is all wrapped up with pretty ribbon and a bow but this isn’t a case with a happy ending.

I’m glad these Islamic terrorists can’t inflict more mayhem and death but we need to step back and soberly reflect on the fact that for a lot of people in the past week have had their lives changed forever and in particular for the survivors, they’re not really the lucky ones here.

If we really want to do something for them we can begin by deporting Muslims already here and prohibiting further immigration from Muslim countries. Since we’re aren’t going to do that, what happened in Boston last Tuesday won’t be the last act of Islamic terrorism we’ll see in America.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 11:31 am

Debbie, thank you for bringing this topic up. I, too, shook my head in disgust at not only calling the Watertown boat owner a hero, but also the MIT campus security guy who got shot a hero. He was just sitting in his car, and these guys shot him. The guy is a VICTIM, not a hero. The spectators who were killed at the Marathon are VICTIMS, not heros. The firemen who ran UP the stairs at the World Trade Center towers TOWARD the fire are the heroes. The passengers on Flight 91 who finally decided to fight the terrorists are heroes. People who happen to get caught in the crossfire or who happen to report a trespasser on their property – no matter HOW notorious the trespasser – are VICTIMS, not heroes.

And on another note: it’s nice of people to offer to buy the guy a new boat, but doesn’t he have INSURANCE??? This is just another example of people trying to inject themselves into a situation that has nothing to do with them. I don’t think it’s generosity as much as narcissism. It’s like the people who buy flowers and go to a death site and cry for the cameras when someone they don’t even know is killed.

A little off topic, but a good example of this. I have a friend who was one of JFK, Jr’s neighbors in Tribeca. When he and his wife died, complete strangers from all over the country came and left tributes at the front door of their condo building. It became quite a nuisance. People would sit on the sidewalk all day and cry, leaving flowers, stuffed animals, all kinds of crap in the sidewalk. And the other residents of the building had to PAY to have this stuff removed and taken away. This was all just people who wanted to inject themselves into a situation where they had absolutely no business being, and make it all about them.

DG in GA on April 22, 2013 at 12:36 pm

    Great post, DG. One of my “Niagara Falls” things is seeing little ersatz memorials. I don’t mind a day or two but peeps begin to think they are permanent. THAT’s a personal thing, not something that should become a public eyesore.

    Right on the BU route there is still this dingy, little memorial to that poor biker who was killed a few months back. It has dirty, broken candles and scraps of filthy remnants of dead flowers among it. It’s ridiculous but there it is right in front of a CVS. I won’t even mention the white “ghost bike” across the street and latched on to a pole.

    I noticed today our public transpo had “Boston Strong” across their buses. I hate stuff like that. Boston is not strong. It’s loaded with Libtards and crappy Libtard laws. It would be strong if the city woke up and actually paid attention to Islamic Jihad.

    People are silly and it’s just as you say.

    Skunky on April 22, 2013 at 6:39 pm

Yesterday Chuck Hagel said he doesn’t see any connection between the two bombers and terrorism. Great.

Carol on April 22, 2013 at 1:28 pm

Carol,

Hagel is pro-Islamopandering.

If you thought this Administration was going to get it, you were bound to be sorely disappointed.

NormanF on April 22, 2013 at 2:26 pm

YES HE IS.

He is is the greatest hero who ever lived. Move over, Achilles!

As for gold, I buy some every month or so under a dollar cost averaging plan. I don’t have very much of it yet, so I’d like to see the price collapse – so I can buy extras next time. I don’t think society is going to go all “Mad Max” anytime soon, but the price of gold will very likely get significantly higher in the long term. Of course, anyone who pays more than, say, 5 percent over the spot price is getting ripped off.

Staa atTusM onkey on April 22, 2013 at 2:34 pm

henneberry is no hero but my uncle bob was a real hero of ww11.ragheads should never have been allowed in to our country because pisslam is not compatible with civilized behavior and they hate us.sooner or later we will have to kill all of the ragheads or they will kill us.

bruce on April 22, 2013 at 3:33 pm

Norman, thanks. Forgot about Hagel’s history.

Carol on April 22, 2013 at 3:59 pm

I kinda think he’s a hero. If the fifty cops had just followed the punk 100 yards to where he basically collapsed after exiting his vehical they could have been the heros instead (and saved the city a billion dollars too.)

Brian on April 22, 2013 at 4:28 pm

You are Right ms Debbie. Heroic actions in the past were rightly lauded and such persons were remembered for decades . Today a wheel chair sportsperson is called a hero .Not for some heroic act but because they use a wheelchair to play murder ball or some other overhyped ,over sponsored activity aimed at the populace by fox marketing.
Many years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of knowing a few people who had the honour of being called Hero,after performing true acts of heroism during WW2. One of them was the brother of a man who was recommended by the enemy for recognition .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Allan_Trigg
When your enemy sees that your actions are those of a hero,it says it all.

Aron B on April 22, 2013 at 7:09 pm

Debbie is right about real heroes being humble and self effacing. In fact it sort of carries to their families. I never really thought of my Dad as a hero but I think from reading this he was.
We lived in a neighborhood just across the Hudson from Manhattan so really not far from several airports, large and small. It was a typical outlying urban neighborhood. Close together homes and small apartment buildings. There was a big park a block away. There was also an old radio tower, then being used for TV a few blocks away in the opposite direction. When I was about 10, I had come home for lunch and was being taken back to school when a Piper Cub hit the TV tower in fog, lost an engine in a school yard seconds after the kids went back in and then careened into a 5 story apt. building exactly 2blocks from our house. I saw the crash. Our housekeeper immediately pulled back into the driveway and told my Dad. He immediately grabbed the keys, got me out of the car and tore up the street. There was no EMS back then. Cops would man an ambulance and head for the nearest hospital. So the fire was put out fairly quickly and they needed to look for survivors/bodies. Without a thought for his safety my Dad, who was a doctor, went up to the 5th floor with the firemen and cops. He triaged several survivors and unfortunately found 5 lost souls which he had to pronounce. The structure was unstable and risky but they needed someone on scene and he was there. That was his only thought when he left the house. None of the other local doctors, even those with in a couple of blocks responded until people were brought to hospital.
My father’s actions that day were pretty heroic because he didn’t know what he’d find inside and some people were badly hurt. He only sought to save those he could and he did.

Italkit on April 22, 2013 at 7:10 pm

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