Return To Honor

One of the most powerful and endearing statements to ever come out of the military has been “No One Left Behind.” There are countless stories, many of them having resulted in earning someone the Medal Of Honor, that attest to how powerfully felt that statement is to those who have served in combat, and few things stirs our hearts more than to know that someone might feel that way about one of us when we are in trouble. It’s a bond of brotherhood and, if you like, of sisterhood that embraces the notion that we are all “family” in some way…that we belong to one another in some fashion. It is what made this country strong and truly great…families and the sense of “family” that compelled people to work together with a common cause, direction and purpose.
We need that sense of community and “family” now, in every aspect of our society…in our schools, our churches, workplaces and even in our streets. I know it’s hard to embrace that notion with regard to those who might appear to be against us or unwilling to treat us in the same fashion, but that does not diminish the need for us to stop thinking of anyone as separate from us and therefore undeserving of our consideration of their inherent value. If they are troublemakers or have broken laws, then certainly they must be punished…but they still need and deserve to be treated as human beings rather than the dregs of society.
By that I am not saying that we must be easy or soft on them. Quite the contrary. If they are a threat to us, they must be removed from society and kept locked up until they have been “corrected,” which means just that. To punish people harshly without any attempt to redirect their behavior and attitude is only to make them worse…more hateful, more vengeful. Many among them are veterans who have endured some of the most heinous acts of war, and returned to society expected to pick up where they left off.
Veterans or not, they are all someone’s brothers, or sisters, or fathers, mothers, uncles, and so on, and 90% of them will someday be released back into our communities. Do we want them back full of hatred and vengeance, or do we want safer streets and more productive citizens with greater incentive to do right in the world? It’s up to us to demand that they be properly educated and truly “corrected,” which is not as hard as some “experts” would have us believe. Many of them want to change. They just don’t know how, or whom to trust, and few of them leave prisons and jails with anything but the clothes on their backs. In war, which we are fighting on many levels, that’s tantamount to leaving them behind. Only these won’t die or go away. They’ll be in our faces and perhaps in our living rooms someday…and it won’t be to say thank you.
Don Kirchner
July 30, 2010

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