Do you have any American heroes? Who are they?

My late father, James Richard Cameron has always been my number one hero. He was raised in poverty and had to pitch in with his brothers and sister to help feed the family. He dearly loved his parents, although they died when he was a young adult. He was drafted his senior year in high school into the U. S. Army during WWII. Within 90 days he found himself in Germany carrying an M1 Rifle. He was wounded going into Düsseldorf, Germany on April 16th, 1945. His wounds were a ticket home and he healed up within a few months. He went to night school and ended up pursuing a career in banking. He was always a good mentor and father. He and my mother provided for our family and made growing up a time for learning values of family and modeled how to be a loving parent and teacher to your kids. He died at 69 and I have missed him every day since he passed. My Mom was blessed to live much longer, and she too was a wonderful parent, teacher, and loving mother. I was blessed to have them in my life...

Sorry, but my American Hero and Heroine are my parents.
 
Timewise 60+ said:
My late father, James Richard Cameron has always been my number one hero. He was raised in poverty and had to pitch in with his brothers and sister to help feed the family. He dearly loved his parents, although they died when he was a young adult. He was drafted his senior year in high school into the U. S. Army during WWII. Within 90 days he found himself in Germany carrying an M1 Rifle. He was wounded going into Düsseldorf, Germany on April 16th, 1945. His wounds were a ticket home and he healed up within a few months. He went to night school and ended up pursuing a career in banking. He was always a good mentor and father. He and my mother provided for our family and made growing up a time for learning values of family and modeled how to be a loving parent and teacher to your kids. He died at 69 and I have missed him every day since he passed. My Mom was blessed to live much longer, and she too was a wonderful parent, teacher, and loving mother. I was blessed to have them in my life...

Sorry, but my American Hero and Heroine are my parents.
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Don't be sorry. That's wonderful.
 
There are so many, but one I was thinking of today because of the "Call the Midwife" Christmas special,

Wiki quote: "In 1960, during her first month at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey took a bold stance against inadequate testing and corporate pressure when she refused to approve release of thalidomide in the United States."

My grandfather is a hero of mine, too, a hardworking, God fearing farmer, my mother revered him all her life.

During the flu epidemic of 1918, most of his family was sick, but the baby girl seemed near to death. He had seen the doctor go by and knew he would pass again on his way back, so he stood by the side of the road to flag him down. He was so sick and feverish himself he was afraid he would pass out so he tied himself to a tree beside the road to wait.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
For me, it's George Washington. If not for him, what we call the US would be totally different. If the US followed the usual path after a revolution, we should have had a military dictatorship. Almost every revolution ends up that way. And for the first 8 years of the US, it was Washington's prestige, and personal integrity, which kept the nation together. No other person could have done that the 1800s. I knew the school book stuff-"father of the country", war general, but he gave us the government we have. He could have been the first Emperor of the US, instead of the first President. We owe him so much.
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Finally, someone named Washington, offered a kingdom, and turned it down in favor of a limited presidency! That takes one hell of a man!
 
feywon said:
They have been remembered fondly and honored here. The few remaining living ones are cherished elders.
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mrstime said:
Finally, someone named Washington, offered a kingdom, and turned it down in favor of a limited presidency! That takes one hell of a man!
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I totally agree. I used to think Washington -father of the country yadda yaddda yadda. By far, the vast majority of revolutions wind up with a military dictatorship. And not only did he refuse that mantle, when he was President, he was careful to act within the law. He was not just President for his period, but for every time since. I never realized how much his integrity meant to us.
 
Got to say a big thank you to America for the gift of Jennie Jerome. Born in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn in 1854. She met and eventually married Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill a British statesman who created the Conservative (political) Party, and broke new ground in modern budgetary presentations, attracting admiration and criticism from across the political spectrum. His most acerbic critics were in his own party, among his closest friends; but his disloyalty to the Prime Minister was the beginning of the end of what could have been a glittering career.
Jennie & Randolph produced a son who became our war time prime minister, one Winston Churchill.
 
The people who work at Wikipedia are my heroes, as are the people who write free software. I'm not sure how they earn a living... probably through donations, but they're great! I donate to Wikipedia regularly and I'm going to donate to some of the companies that produce free software that I use.

Good investigative reporters are also my heroes, especially in this day and age when people get violent if something is reported that doesn't comport to their world view or if what's reported makes their idols look bad.
 
SeniorBen said:
The people who work at Wikipedia are my heroes, as are the people who write free software. I'm not sure how they earn a living... probably through donations, but they're great! I donate to Wikipedia regularly and I'm going to donate to some of the companies that produce free software that I use.

Good investigative reporters are also my heroes, especially in this day and age when people get violent if something is reported that doesn't comport to their world view or if what's reported makes their idols look bad.
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Imaginative and intelligent choice. Well done SeniorBen.
 
I'm a Dwight Eisenhower fan.

I just read a book about the Cuban missile crisis and JFK certainly performed heroically in that situation. He faced down the Russians, but more importantly he faced down his own trigger-happy generals. He may have literally saved the world.

Martin Luther King was a major hero for me growing up. I know all about the personal life, but his achievements outweigh all that.

I liked both Jimmy Carter and the first George Bush, each heroes in their own way.

Stevie Wonder is probably my number one musical hero. I don't know anything about his personal life so if it's bad don't tell me.

My late brother-in-law, ex-Marine, devoted husband and father of six great children (and grandfather to 17!) gave me sage counsel and filled in as a substitute dad after my father died. He was definitely a hero to me.
 

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