Free Republic

A Hero Among US by: James F. Davis, November 09, 2007 The first Medal of Honor since 9/11 was recently awarded posthumously by the President to Michael Murphy. It saddens me that, of the major media, only one, Fox News, carried the ceremony live. This is the highest award for bravery in defending our country. Our people, especially our youth, need to know about the kind of person who risked his life so that the rest of us could live free. I discovered I had one such hero in my own family. After taking my uncle, Gerald F. Davis, to...

FHM model saves British tourists from sinking boat in dramatic Baywatch-style rescueBy IAN EVANS - More by this author » Last updated at 18:19pm on 7th November 2007  A British family was rescued from a sinking ship in South Africa by a real-life Baywatch babe when a teenage model turned into a Pamela Anderson-style lifesaver. Professional surfer-turned-model Roxy Louw spotted the family's sinking charter boat from her private balcony overlooking the upmarket Clifton Beach in Cape Town, South Africa. She phoned the coastguard - then donned her wetsuit and ran towards the beach. Scroll down for more...Lifesaver: Roxy Louw...

Hero cops save 12 from fire in 2 Bronx homes BY PETER KADUSHIN, TINA MOORE and ETHAN ROUEN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSMonday, October 29th 2007, 4:00 AM Police Officers Christopher Scott (left) and Michael Welsh from the 12th Precinct As fiery debris rained down on them, two city cops rushed through a pair of Bronx homes engulfed in flames Sunday and helped rescue 12 people, including two infants.Officers Michael Welsh and Christopher Scott kicked down doors and screamed to wake people as the blaze devoured 374 Bronx Park Ave. in West Farms. After they emerged from the inferno, they...

The ultimate tribute: Iraq-hero Hall nominated for George Cross medalBy JONATHAN POWELL - More by this author » Last updated at 22:53pm on 13th October 2007  A British security guard who died as he saved the lives of four colleagues in Iraq is to be recommended for Britain's highest civilian honour, the George Cross. Simon Hall and his companions were unarmed when they were overpowered by gunmen near the Kuwait border, bundled into a pick-up truck and taken on a terrifying journey to almost certain death. But the captives launched a daring escape attempt, with Simon heroically grabbing hold...

FORT LAUDERDALE: As the lunch rush started Monday, waiter Juan Canales stopped a carjacker from taking a woman's Honda CRV out of the parking lot where he worked. Hours later he lost his job.

Heroic Academic Research by: Malcolm A. Kline, September 06, 2007 Believe it or not, we came across some outside-the-box academic research that does not look that bad. “Temple University psychologist Frank Farley, following an intensive study of modern heroism, divided heroes into three types,” Roger Donway reports in the September issue of The New Individualist. “First are the soldiers, policemen, firemen, rescue workers—what Farley calls 911 heroes (referring to the emergency telephone number, not September 11).” “They are, in a sense, professional heroes.” Acknowledging the heroic aspect of military service sets Farley apart from most of his peers. He must...

It sounds kind of canned, but there truly is a hero in all of us. We all were designed by God to be a blessing to others – a champion to someone. Don't ever minimize yours or others' position or potential. Everyone has a place on the planet. Contributing to the culture of courage is all of our duty. As my mother has always told me, I also pass on to you: God has a plan for your life. The question is: Will we recognize our potential and offer up the power of our one unique life? I am genuinely...

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - A Carnegie fund commission in the U.S. awarded a medal for heroism Friday to a Russian man who died trying to save a girl from falling into a canyon. Vitaly Tsikoza, 41, of Novosibirsk fell 140 meters (450 feet) to his death trying to save three-year-old Paulina Filippova at American Fork Canyon in Utah on September 24, 2006. The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission meets five times annually to choose honorees. Since the fund was established in 1904, over 9,000 people have received heroism medals.

In Memoriam: Custer's Last Stand, June 25, 1876 Private William Slaper : «Each man had secreted himself behind a slain horse. » Lieutenant Charles DeRudio: “The horses were laying as if to suggest a barricade.” Lieutenant Luther Hare: “The evidence on the Custer field indicated very hard fighting.” __ Reno court of Inquiry: “In regard to the severity of the fighting on General Custer’s battlefield, did you see any evidences that there was hard fighting there, or the contrary? Lieutenant Godfrey: “I think there must have been a very hard fighting. Reno court of Inquiry: “You think there was a...

Amazingly, MSM can do something right. Meet Bert Brady - just one man that goes out of his way to thank the soldiers - ABC News Person of the Week. You may want to have a tissue handy.

ExclusiveWar crime: FBI targets fake heroes BY THOMAS ZAMBITO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSunday, May 6th 2007, 4:00 AM The FBI is using a new law to nab phonies like Georgia's Richard Thibodeau, who was outed as a fake marine. Federal agents are taking aim at phony war heroes who tell tall tales of battlefield valor and pin bogus medals upon their chests, the Daily News has learned.The FBI's Washington headquarters receives at least 15 tips a week about fake heroes - and most of the information comes from veterans who are furious that the scam artists are demeaning real...

A survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre has been describing how a colleague died to protect others. Although badly injured, graduate student Waleed Shalaan distracted gunman Cho Seung-Hui to save another person from his bullets. Waleed saved another student's life.The surviving student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told of Waleed's heroics through an email to his supervisor. He describes how he was left uninjured after Cho's initial round of shots. Meanwhile, Waleed had been wounded but was still alive. However, when Cho later returned to the classroom to inspect for signs of life among his victims, the surviving student struggled...

April 18, 2007, 6:45 a.m. We Need More HeroesSpiderman is not going to save us. Liviu Librescu may. By James Bowman Reacting to what many in Britain and elsewhere are regarding as the disgraceful behavior while in captivity of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by the Iranians, Simon Heffer recently wrote in the London Daily Telegraph: “Why are some so weak-minded compared with those 18- year-olds who, within living memory, went over the top on the Somme, or splashed through machine-gun fire onto the Normandy beaches?” Heffer himself belongs to the “I-blame-the-parents” school of thought on this matter...

Many historians in America are complaining that people are not interested in American History, and not ready to want accuracy. Here is a video about Custer's Last Stand, in words and pictures. Enjoy 6 minutes of accurate American history! (this video was done by a Custer historian) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKeTsG2JpQA

Hurt cop nabs bad guy  Stabbed in head, he shoots, chases down the suspect until help arrives  BY MELISSA GRACE and ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSThursday, March 15th 2007, 4:00 AM Officer Anthony Cairone carries injured fellow Officer Angel Cruz into Jamaica Hospital after Cruz was stabbed in the head with a hunting knife during a struggle with suspect on subway platform. Even after he was hacked in the head with a hunting knife, a Brooklyn cop still managed to chase his attacker across a subway platform - shooting him twice before collapsing nearby, police said yesterday. NYPD...

    Honour ... widow Lorena holds VC at palace Queen: Always be proud of him By TOM NEWTON DUNN Defence EditorMarch 08, 2007           THE Queen presented the widow of hero Para Bryan Budd with his Victoria Cross yesterday — telling her: “Always be proud of him.”  Cpl Budd, 29, died during a brave lone charge at Taliban fighters in the southern Afghan badlands.He freed up his stricken section to escape an ambush by killing three enemy at point-blank range before being gunned down himself.Widow Lorena, 23, received the cherished medal — only the second given...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2007 – President Bush presented the Medal of Honor today to retired Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, 41 years after heroic actions in Vietnam the president said demonstrate the best of America and its military members. Bush praised Crandall’s heroism during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in November 1965, when he repeatedly flew into intensive enemy fire to rescue and resupply besieged 1st Cavalry Division ground troops. Crandall proved himself “a daring pilot, a devoted soldier and a self-less leader” during the first major ground battle of the war at Landing Zone X-Ray near the...

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Feb. 23, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace presented a Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars here yesterday to three soldiers for heroism displayed in Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005. Pvt. Stephen C. Sanford, recently medically retired from the Army, salutes Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Feb. 22. Sanford received the award for going above and beyond the call of duty while fighting terrorist in Iraq. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2007 – Two Afghan nationals and five American soldiers received recognition from President Bush and U.S. Central Command’s top officer for heroism in preventing a driver from carrying out a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, in January. Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, recognizes Task Force Phoenix soldiers for heroic efforts in preventing a vehicle loaded with explosives from detonating inside the front gate of Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. From left are Army Staff Sgt. William Strobeck, Sgts. Brian Bailey and Mathew Sisson, and Spcs. Justin Carry and Linza Hampton. U.S....

TEMPLE – Just a few months earlier, Keifer Marshall Jr. had played in the Cotton Bowl for the University of Texas. His sweetheart, Sammie, faithfully wrote letters to him every day after he left school to become a Marine. Mail was slow in 1945, and Sammie had no idea the 19-year-old man to whom she wrote had been sent to the bloodiest battle in the Marine Corps' history. Marshall, who grew up in Temple and would one day become mayor of the city, was on a boat heading toward an island he'd never heard of. His leaders told him he'd...