American Hero

It usually takes significant events for us to reflect on the daily sacrifices that are being made on our behalf. Perhaps it is a plane crashing into a building. It might be the celebration of Memorial or Veteran's Day. In recent weeks, a newly released movie has been able to raise awareness on a similar level.

I first heard of Chris Kyle when he released his book, American Sniper. When I finally had the chance to read it myself, the words on the pages left me captivated. He truly carried himself in a manor worthy of the title of "The Legend."
To say that I was excited to see the book come to life as a film would be an understatement.

Until this weekend when I was in the theater watching American Sniper, a war movie has never left me frozen long into the credits. While they have certainly left me feeling grateful and humbled, images of invading Nazi Germany and hiking through Vietnamese jungles have not shaken me to my core quite like this story has. I don't at all mean to diminish those who have served throughout history. The sacrifices made by men and women in generations past obviously built this nation into one of the greatest in human history. Perhaps the difference was because American Sniper is a graphic depiction of my generation's war. A war that has been all too familiar through the majority of my adult life.

As I was graduating high school, military service just did not seem to be on my radar. For years, education and athletics had been much of the driving force in my decision making, and college was the next logical step in that process. I got married my senior of college and it just felt like at that point, it was too late to sign up. In the years since, I have wrestled with the notion that I may have let my country down by not offering up my abilities to the military. As Michael Murphy, Matthew Axelson, and Danny Dietz took their last breathes in the mountains of Afghanistan, I was in Colorado. While soldiers were dying in Ramadi, I sat in a dorm room. When nearly 500 American soldiers gave their lives during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010, I was in a cubical reviewing insurance policies.

I have found peace in public service as a fireman. Whether or not it is easily recognizable, our efforts do make a difference in our communities. We don't have to be overseas to serve. This is evidenced in those times when members of the public stop us in the grocery store to say thank you or when the media labels us as heroes. Though I greatly appreciate these gestures, I cannot say I feel like a hero. Others are always more deserving of the title than myself. I am comfortable in just being a firefighter; doing my job as any other firefighter would do in the same circumstances. I also know I will never comprehend the level of sacrifice that those in the armed forces have made. To those who have served, I thank you. You all are worthy of the title hero. You name does not have to be Chris Kyle, Marcus Luttrell, or Kyle Carpenter for that to apply.

The fire service has taught me many things. Among these are the following: Respect is earned. Valor is proven. Honor is given. These are not attributes that we can simply bestow upon ourselves. Our character and actions will determine whether or not we live up to these words that are written inside so many Maltese crosses.