Loss of a Hero

We need heroes.

What we don't need is another rapper, pro athlete, or politician to show young people that the way to be a success is to be as famous and rich as possible. We need people that show that a true hero is someone that will lay down on a wire for a friend and be willing to make the ultimate sacrafice.

I'm sorry to say that we as nation lost another real hero. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley died this month in Columbus Georgia at the age of 92. A thirty year combat hardened veteran, Plumley served in some of the toughest fights Americans have ever been, with his service spanning three wars. He fought at the Battle of Normandy, a fight that brings incredibly violent yet heroic images to my mind, immortalized by Spielberg's opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. Plumley then proceeded to fight the Nazis in Italy and less than a decade latter fought the communists in the Korean war. But Plumley's most famous battle is the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. There he and Lt. Gen Hal Moore led 450 US troops of the 7th Calvary Regiment against over 2,000 Vietnamese troops dug into the hill sides. With 230 US loses, it became the first major battle in Vietnam.

Because of the intensity and valor that the Sgt. Maj. brought to the battlefield, he was played by Sam Elliot in the 2002 film We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson as Lt. Maj Moore. I actually really enjoyed the movie and Plumley's character in it before I researched more about his exploits and heard of his death.

Although his bravery in a fight is commendable and in all honesty pretty badass, what makes him a hero isn't his talent with a gun, but in his care for his men and his willingness to sacrifice for them. "That was a long day. I was the second one in and next to the last to leave," said Plumley. He showed his men that regardless of what happened, he was there fighting right with them. He led from the front, where the dark and hard and gritty things happened.

He is the kind of role model for younger people that I have a harder and harder time finding today. He is from an era of men willing to put it all out there for the guy next to them. My generation needs men like that, and I'm crushed to say that there doesn't seem to be many left to teach us what is necessary.

Source:
 Lendon, Brad. "Basil Plumley, Army Veteran of 3 Wars, Dies at 92." CNN.com. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012.
      Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/11/basil-plumley-army-veteran-of-three-
      wars-dies-at-92/?iref=allsearch>.