Return To Honor

In my second book, Return To Honor, I write about such topics as “Courage,” “Truth,” “Attitude,” and other core values that I draw upon to illustrate how one can liberate him or herself from the traps of moral weakness, illusion and “victim” mentalities that keep us stuck on the never-ending treadmills of life. In the first chapter, I refer to Audie Murphy, until recently considered the “most decorated hero” in U.S. military history.

Today I learned of the death of another American hero, Col. Robert Howard, the only person in history to be nominated for the Medal Of Honor three times, for three separate acts of the ultimate level of heroism. (You can only receive one per lifetime.) Bob Howard also earned eight Purple Hearts (for injuries sustained in battle),  and numerous other medals such as the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and so forth. If my count of what was listed is correct, he surpassed the total of Audie Murphie’s awards, which is almost inconceivable. To earn even a Silver Star alone takes an act of courage “above and beyond” the call of duty, and the Medal Of Honor itself is almost impossible to earn. Over 60% of those who did received theirs posthumously.

What compels me to write about Col. Howard at this point is to point out that nothing is impossible. One does not have to be a battlefield hero to be a “hero.” As the beloved “Doctor of Love,” Leo Buscaglia once wrote, “For most of us there will be no tickertape parade…no awards banquets or medals handed out for the heroic deeds we’ve done. But if we only knew the ripple effects that resulted from even the simplest acts of love and kindness we’ve done in our lives, we’d all be ‘heroes’.”

That may seem not so significant, but I can tell you for certain, and a good number of movies have portrayed it, and books have depicted it, that in fact a simple act of kindness can indeed change someone’s life. Consider the classic film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart, or the recent hit “Blindside,” starring Sandra Bullock, both of which were based on true stories. There are many more, and many that we’ll never know about…but lives have changed and have been saved over acts of kindness that may not take the courage and sacrifice of people like Col. Howard and Audie Murphy, but the long-term benefits can actually be just as great.

“If we only knew,” as Leo wrote, “the ripple effect” that our kindness and our courage to act kindly toward others has created. If we had the chance to step back and see the good that we’ve done, it would most certainly prove to have been worth all the difficulties, the challenges and heartaches that we have endured.

Never think that your life hasn’t counted for much. If you’ve done even the smallest thing to help someone else, to love someone else, or to do anything kind for someone that enabled them to change something troubling to them, then you have been a “hero.”

Don Kirchner
Sedona, Arizona