Celebrities and Heroes

I’ve met a lot of cool people over the past year. Some are famous with names and faces most people would recognize. Today I met a man and I had no clue until Justin told me on our way back to Walter Reed the significance of who the man was. He introduced himself and his son, and I shook the man’s prosthetic right hand. He didn’t make a big deal or even mention his story. Honestly, I am surrounded by so many amputees, that he just blended in with the rest of the ones who were at the golf event. I won’t say that I’m desensitized to it because I’m amazed daily and what these awesome men and women overcome and the sacrifices they’ve made for our country. The difference with this man is that he is one of a small number of living Medal of Honor recipients from the war in Afghanistan. We had heard that Tiger Woods might make an appearance, but if he did it was after we left. To be honest, I’m a lot more honor to have met Leroy Petry, the Medal of Honor recipient, than I would have been if I’d met Tiger Woods. Nothing against Tiger, but while he may have more skills in the game of golf, the guys out there today were a lot more impressive. Quite a few were missing at least one leg, some missing both legs, others missing fingers or an arm, yet there they were, out on the golf course doing their best. For Justin, he’s having to relearn how to hit the ball so that it goes where he wants it. He has to learn a new stance, make adjustments for being three inches shorter than his pre-injury height, and keep his balance while standing on the equivalent of stilts while hitting the ball…and then take into account that he’s been walking on two legs for less than two months. All Tiger has to do is walk up and hit the ball.

My own lack of recognition for the Medal of Honor recipient that I met today made me think. How many recipients would I actually recognize? I did an online search and according to Wikipedia (I recognize that it isn’t the most accurate site on the internet, but it helped me find information on the man I met today), there are 8 living recipients from the war in Afghanistan. I can name many Purple Heart recipients that I know personally, but I’m embarrassed to say that of those 8 living Medal of Honor recipients, I recognized the names of only 2 and the face of just one of those two – the most recent recipient, Kyle Carpenter. Sadly, many Americans might know even less than that, but if you ask the average person to name the actors in their favorite television show or movie, they likely could tell you and possibly even name the children of the actor/actress, who they are currently and even formerly married to. All these people do is recite some lines and follow a script (and some of them not even very well), and can anyone tell me who the Kardashians are and why we should keep up with them??? Seriously, I don’t get the fascination. If you asked a sports fan to name all the starting players on their favorite team (and even the bench warmers), they likely could. All these people do is play a game and make millions.

Let me tell you about Leroy Petry. In May 2008, he was in a firefight against some insurgents when a grenade landed a few feet from him and two fellow soldiers (this was after being shot in both thighs). He picked up the grenade and attempted to toss it away. Right as he was releasing it, it exploded, taking his right arm, but saving his life and the lives of the two men who were with him. He didn’t let his injuries keep him down. He remained active duty in the Army even after losing his arm and today he was out golfing along with many other wounded service members. He didn’t introduce himself as a Medal of Honor recipient. He was just Leroy who was golfing with his young son, Landon. A man who showed Corey some of the cool stuff his mechanical arm could do.

It seems like every other week there is some sort of music or acting awards show where celebrities pat each other on the backs and try to get ratings for whichever network airs the show. They give speeches and sing songs and clap for each other. Pretty much every week, you could turn to a sports channel and find highly paid athletes throwing, kicking, dribbling, shooting, and hitting various types of balls and pucks and drivers racing around a track. These people are good at what they do, but people like Leroy Petry, Kyle Carpenter, Dakota Meyer, and the rest of the Medal of Honor recipients deserve so much more. Not only did they make sacrifices for our country, they put themselves in danger to save their fellow soldiers. That deserves so much more attention than celebrities, sports figures, and various scandals…though these brave men would never ask for any recognition. They likely would just say that they were doing their jobs if they’re anything like the Purple Heart recipients that I know.

Justin and two fellow amputees that he golfed with today

For more information about the living Medal of Honor recipients:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_Medal_of_Honor_recipients

For more information about Leroy Petry's story:

http://www.army.mil/article/61332/