Preview

Modern Day Hero

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1062 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Modern Day Hero
In today 's society, it is hard to know someone who another person can look up to as a hero. It takes a special quality and person for others to know they can look up to and follow without worrying about being lead astray. The modern day hero I have chosen is someone who not only is willing to lay his life down for another, but also is willing to fight for everyone 's freedom. James A. Miller Jr. is that modern day hero; he is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corp. For the last year, he has been overseas fighting for not only the lives of all Americans, but he is also trying to free the Iraqi Government and people.
Growing up, I always thought of him as just my baby brother. After he joined the Marines in 1993, I have seen him grow into a young man who many look up to. Not only do my children and his look up to him, but many others do also. James is a smart, good-looking young man whom everyone enjoys being around. He is into hunting, fishing and being outdoors which are just some of his favorite hobbies. He loves spending time with his family and doing whatever he can with them when the time allows.
James and all the men and women who are willing to serve and protect are the real heroes of our day and age. They should be commended for the service they provide.
James is in charge of the Combined Anti-Armor Team. Being a section leader, he is in charge of 30 to 45 Marines, 8 Hummers, 6 machine gun variants and 2 tow variants, (TOW) is Tube launched Optical command linked Wire guided missile. Over the past year, he has had 9 months of float, 3 combat operations in 3 different areas in the world. Some of the areas he has been are Kosovo, Djibotia, Africa and Iraq. During one of his tours of combat, his unit was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). The PUC is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States for extraordinary acts of heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    After each war, different heroes were proclaimed, while ordinary soldiers who gave their lives away for their countries and were killed during the battles were forgotten. "The Wars" by Timothy Findley describes the place of ordinary men in a situation which magnify their actions until they seem either heroic or insane, or both. "The Wars" does not describe the deeds of the extraordinary men, instead, it deals with a man who is flawed, as we all are, and whose flaws widen as war goes on. By traditional definition, hero is someone who is larger than life, someone who possesses great strength and courage. Was Robert Ross, the protagonist of "The Wars", a hero? First answer that comes to mind is "no", but the more one thinks about it, the more he starts to believe that Robert indeed was a hero, though not a traditional one. Although Robert Ross does not blindly follow orders of his commanders, Robert Ross is a hero because he is a courageous man who always helps those who are in need, a man who cares about his family, and a man who believes in life above everything.…

    • 829 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Despite his fortunate up-bringing and prominent family ancestry, he decided to enlist as an officer in the United States Marine Corps at the young age of seventeen after the, “USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor in February 1898 and war fever swept through the country,” (Devil Dog, pg.20). Once completing training and becoming a second lieutenant, he was shipped off to fight the war in Cuba, but arrived too late to see much action because he would be destined to prevail in China. There, he would prove to be a natural born commander and would win his men’s loyalty. He took a direct bullet to the thigh all while saving one of his…

    • 1122 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    John F Baker Heroic Acts

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Heroic acts can range anywhere from small gestures or actions to saving countless lives. John F Baker is a hero because of his courageous acts in Vietnam. He saved the lives of various United States soldiers. He will never be forgotten for the times he served in Vietnam…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In my opinion, I would describe Noah Galloway as a brave man. Galloway, N. (2005). Our war: Relentless forward Progress. In Henry Howard (Eds.), Surviving Veterans: Different effects (pp.19-28). I would describe Galloway to have a lot of courage in what he did and has done.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller was an officer in the United States Marine Corps with a career spanning thirty-seven years from 1918 – 1955. His career included three wars and ten distinct battles. Puller retired from a highly decorated career in the United States Marine Corps on November 1, 1955 due to failing health, but his legacy as one of the most decorated members of the Marine Corps with five Navy Crosses and one Distinguished Service Cross has lived on as the stuff of legends in the Marine Corps to this day.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    History of Marines

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Narrator: Cpl Mackie was the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military award.…

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many military heroes are honored daily for the dedication and sacrifices they make for our country. Everyday people do not know what these brave men and women do to protect their country. Just like every other military hero, Chris Kyle is remembered for how well he fought to protect his men and our country, and he will continue to be known as “the most lethal sniper in military history” (American Sniper). All military service men and women are honored for what they do for us, but Chris Kyle will never be forgotten for putting his life on the line to keep everyone alive.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Iwo Jima Interview

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    He didn‘t gave up, he stole food from them to survive and share it. In 1953, he was sent free and back home safely. With the third veteran, Hershel Williams, war was in The Island of Iwo Jima and started on February 21, 1945. He wasn‘t prepared, he was on a reserved group not ready for war, but when they got to they island, war started. He still fought but didn‘t know much. His sergeant told him to use the fire gun in order to burn down the pillboxes. He didn‘t know how to use them, but still tried and succeed burning many pillboxes in hours. In my opinion, the men remembering their experiences are really brave. Some men don‘t like to remember this because it was brutal and horrible, but these honorable men were brave enough to tell us. I believe these men were able to do this things because of their nation and their family back home. They wanted to protect others, so they gave everything they had to do it. Also because on the interview they said, "It was my job, so I did it." I think the war change them to become better men. Might be bigger than better, they became loyal, honorable, and brave soldiers. Many years later, they received the medal of…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We all have certain people that we look up to, whether it be a friend, family member, celebrity, or so on, they impact our life. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the oldest of five ad part of the family with a spectacular history of bravery. All the men before him, in his family, that lived in America, served for their country and there’s no doubt that this strongly influenced Chamberlain growing up. Chamberlain was a college professor, but decided to leave his job early to help out with the war. Joshua went on to be a hero in the Civil War, most notably, day two at Gettysburg. He saved the far left on Little Round Top, and was praised heavily for doing so. Not only did he get his men to pull this off, but he also cared for each of them dearly, and encouraged them every step of the way. He was a true leader. Then, despite some severe battle wounds, he lived for a while after, and was named President of Bowdoin College, the 23rd governor of Maine, and won a medal of honor for his outstanding performance of patriotism at Gettysburg. All together he was a great leader, source of encouragement, and a role model for not just the people of the time period, but those who hear of him today as well.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    tim blixseth essay

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When I was younger, I thought money ruled everything but in reality it doesn’t. Working hard doesn’t apply anymore in today’s economy. Most of the people who are wealthy have grown into the money or inherited from their ancestor. People hold the wealthy to a higher standard/power therefore they think they are better than the middle/lower class. Even though money is a great asset to have, it can be a liability. As I read the essay about Tim Blixseth, he was an individual who was not impressed or got excited about how much money he and his family had. He wanted to be low key, an average middle class person who worked hard for what he got not just given. In the story “Living It” he tells us how he would wake up in different locations each night.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For my book report, I read the book War Heroes Voices from Iraq by Allan Zullo. The author interviewed ten soldiers about the time they spent in Iraq. The book tells ten different real life stories of soldiers and what amazing things they did in Iraq. The one thing all of these soldiers have in common is that they thought they were just doing their jobs. These soldiers are true heroes because each of them risked their own lives to save others and to protect our country. Even though a lot of soldiers would do that, not all survive to tell about it.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Just because he is fighting for his country does not mean he is a hero. He could be fighting for only half his country, but in most cases, it’s not the whole of the people you are fighting for. There are always two sides.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Within the book The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien said, “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it.” O’Brien is a Vietnam veteran who does not consider himself a hero. This is interesting because while growing up in the United States of America, people have learned that all veterans are heroes. Americans were raised on hearing war stories that were uplifting and encouraging, but when O’Brien wrote the book, The Things They Carried, he wrote it in the sense that not all war stories are true. That is why he called the book “a work of fiction”;…

    • 1616 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I remember being grateful for all that he did but, if I am honest, I did not fully understand what his sacrifice meant until both of my older brothers, Logan and Cameron, joined the United States Army. Now, when I sing “bombs bursting in air”, I think of Cameron in Afghanistan landing in a Black Hawk in the middle of a fire fight. When I sing “land of the free and he home of the brave”, I think of Logan in Cuba protecting our country. The national anthem is no longer just part of a program to me. My brothers, along with many others, are the people who bring life to these words.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unsung Hereos essay

    • 851 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. In Zinn’s “Unsung Heroes” he enumerates false heroes that are often found among former US presidents and military people. Zinn reminds us of the crimes each of them has committed. He suggests that the undue idols be taken off their pedestal and be replaced by real heroes.…

    • 851 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays