Heroes

            "True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."           

            This quote is from Arthur Ashe, an inspirational hero himself for his personal performance on and off the tennis court. Well, the other day I met three people who fit Ashe's description of heroism.

            The occasion was a dinner party for Colonel Patrick Hynes who had just returned from his latest tour in Afghanistan. Since graduating from West Point in 1991 he has been on multiple assignments, including eight deployments to combat zones. There is hardly any room on his uniform to display all his ribbons, awards, and medals, including two Bronze Stars. He is now on a high level training assignment at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) from which he no doubt will emerge a brigadier general. This is a true hero in my eyes. His dedication, his commitment, and his years of service to his country reflect his urge to serve others at whatever cost.

            The second hero I met was his wife Eleni. When I asked her how many times she has had to move over the years, she started counting, but gave up after nine. "Only a life lived for others is worth living," said Albert Einstein. Eleni is the one who has had to pack up the kids and the dog whenever duty called her husband. Except that many of her moves were to a home filled with worry, loneliness, and the burden of going on without her partner. Einstein would have agreed that her life meets his definition of a life worth living.

            The third hero is a lady named Dolores who has a small flag with two red stars hanging in her dining room window. The stars represent her two sons who are active military. One is Patrick, the other his brother Kevin, whom I would like to meet someday. Kevin is an Army captain and a JAG officer with his own record of deployments to combat zones.

            No man can fully know the heart of a mother who sends two sons off to war. I surely can't. I can only recall what Joshua Chamberlain said: "Heroism is latent in every human soul, however humble or unknown." He was referring to the veterans who served under him at Gettysburg. He could have just as well have been thinking about their mothers.

            Heroes have a thousand faces. I feel privileged to know three of them.