I am no hero, and no Demosthenes either, but here is my talk to the local high school for those who asked. Dark Horse * * * WHAT IS A HERO? Veterans Day Talk at Newburyport High School by Tim Hanke Thank you for inviting me here today. Back in the day, when dinosaurs walked the earth, I was a student here in Newburyport just like you. I wanted to go to Newburyport High School, but didn’t get the chance. I went to the old Currier Junior High School on Forrester Street, which is now a professional building with doctors’ offices. The summer before my freshman year of high school, my family moved to New York State. Twenty-four years went by, and when I had a family of my own, I moved back to Newburyport. Now my older son Jack is a sophomore here at the high school, and my younger son Ben is a seventh-grader at the Nock Middle School. On Veterans Day here in Newburyport, I want to ask the question, what is a hero? In the eyes of many people, certainly many people in the Army, the quintessential hero is a Medal of Honor Winner. Let me tell you a few things about the Medal of Honor. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest military award in our nation. There are 300 million people in this country, and the Medal of Honor is not awarded every year, so you get an idea of how rare it is, and how few people get it. In fact, most people who get the Medal of Honor are dead. These individuals did something remarkably brave in combat, and they got killed, and the Medal of Honor is handed to their wife, or their mom and dad, and the lucky winner never even knows he got the Medal of Honor. When I was a kid back in the 1960s, living in a small town in Connecticut, all the schools were let out one day so the kids could line Main Street for a parade. A young man from our town, who must have been a soldier in the Vietnam War, because that was the war going on at the time, had won the Medal of Honor, and somehow he had survived the experience, so the whole town turned out to honor him with a parade. He rode by in a car and waved at us. I didn’t really know what it was all about, but I knew it was A Very Big Deal. I was impressed and obviously never forgot that experience. Let me tell you another story about a Medal of Honor winner. This happened a few years ago right here in Massachusetts. A state police officer saw a car speeding on the Mass Turnpike, and chased after him, and pulled him over to give him a ticket. When the state police officer looked closely at the license plate of the car he had pulled over, he saw it was a special Medal of Honor license plate. I don’t know how many Medal of Honor license plates there are in the whole country. Maybe ten? So the state police officer marches up to the driver’s side of the car, in that stiff official way of walking that state police officers have, and he says in a gruff voice, “Are you the guy who won the Medal of Honor?” And the driver, an older man, says, “Yes sir, I am.” And the state police officer says, “Well, when you’re on my highway, slow down.” And the state police officer marches back to his police cruiser and drives away. Let me tell you one last thing about the Medal of Honor. You probably know the President of the United States is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. As your history teacher Mr. Sturma may have told you, that goes all the way back to the founding of our country. The men who wrote the Constitution knew that the first President would be George Washington. So they designed the office of President around George Washington, who had been the Commander in Chief of the armed forces during the Revolutionary War. You know, in the military, when you meet a superior officer, you have to salute him. The President is the Commander in Chief, so everybody in the U.S. military has to salute the President. All except Medal of Honor winners. When the President meets a Medal of Honor winner, it is the custom for the President to salute the Medal of Honor winner. That’s enough about the Medal of Honor. I’m 50 years old, and one thing I’ve learned in life is, you don’t have to be a soldier to be a hero. When you see a kid sitting alone in the cafeteria, maybe he’s a quiet kid and doesn’t have a lot of friends, and you sit down across from him, and eat your lunch and chat, and get to know him a little, to me, you’re a hero. When you hear someone saying mean things about a girl behind her back, and you say, “I don’t think that’s very nice,” and you refuse to participate in that kind of talk, you’re a hero. If you’re at a party, and someone offers you a marijuana joint, or a pill, or some other illegal drug, and you say, “No thanks, I don’t do that stuff,” you’re a hero. If you’re a girl on a date, and a boy is pressuring you to do something you don’t want to do—not that a boy would ever do that—and you tell him politely but firmly, “No,” you’re a hero. When you’re out someplace with friends, having a good time, and they want you to get into a car with them, and they’ve been drinking, and you tell them, “No, thank you,” and you call your mom or dad on the phone, and ask them to please to come get you, you’re a hero. And I guarantee you, because I’m a dad, your mom and dad would much rather get up at 2 in the morning and come get you, wherever you are—even if they grumble about it—than drive to the hospital at 2 in the morning and identify your dead body under a sheet. What I’m saying is, you don’t have to be a soldier to be a hero. In your daily life, situations are going to come up. You are going to be faced with decisions, when doing the right thing is not always easy. If you make the right decision, and do the right thing, you are a hero. Thank you.

Hi Tim, Great talk! Nice job of bundling together important things to remember on Veteran's Day and important things to remember every day. Jay

Very nice Tim...I can't see what would be offensive about it...

Very nice Tim...I can't see what would be offensive about it...

I agree. Like WRFB said, usually the only people who bother to write in are those who want to complain. I suppose that should be a lesson to the rest of us that it might be nice to speak up with POSATIVE comments occasionally.

DH: I am very sure that you are the kind of teacher that kids love and admire. I am equally sure (and this isn't a coincidence) that you make some adults uncomfortable. I had a couple of rare teachers like you, and I still remember them and credit them for influencing my formative years and challenging me to think a little more deeply about "things that matter". So keep it up - the kids need teachers like you.

How anyone could've been offended is beyond.

Well, some people go out of their way to be offended. Here was the chief complaint from a few super-patriots: "sitting with the quiet kid is not being a hero, taking a bullet for your squad is being a hero." OK, that's a point of view, but another point of view is that there are many ways to be a hero. A hero in battle is a "war hero." A quarterback who throws the winning touchdown pass is a "football hero." Nowadays there is a popular computer game called "Guitar Hero." I was challenging people to think about more than one definition of "hero." That's why I titled my talk, "What Is a Hero?" I wanted people to be open-minded about that question, and also I wanted to empower the kids in my audience by saying, "You don't have to be a soldier to be a hero--here's what YOU can do." I find it interesting that one of the people who posted on the newspaper's website in my defense is currently in the military, like me. He thought the speech was fine. I think some people who have been in the military at some point in their lives build it up to be a big deal, and get some of their self-esteem from that association with the military. Serving in the military is just one of many things I do, and I don't feel a need to make more out of it than it is. Dark Horse

Great stuff Horseman! A truly great speech... Ray

Say--I sent a copy to a judge I appear in front of often, who is a 20+ Army vietnam Vet and also handles juvenile law cases. He just completed the Marine Corps Marathon this year, too. Here's his response: I am offended by people who would find it offensive. Maybe only heros understand that heroism is doing what should be done when you do not have to do it. That can be jumping on the grenade to save your fellow soldiers, but it can be the simple word or single moment when each of has the opportunity but not the obligation to give of ourselves to another and we give it without expectation of notice or reward. Tim has it right. Those offended will never reach that level.