Please don't go there. Many of us spent days on a thread that looked at all angles. You just came here and spouted. Please look up the previous threads.
Also..."heroism" is not necessarily being "right."
Heroism is doing what you think is best.
The firefighters going UP the stairs in the WTC did not do the "right" thing. They did what they thought was "best."
What a crappy definition of "hero".
A hero is someone who lives a life dedicated to preserving the lives of others ... PERIOD. He put them into the situation, therefore, regardless of what he did after he screwed up, he is not the hero.
Pick the brave people who put thier own lives on the line, suffering cold, fatigue, and elements to find this bonehead, and call THEM heros, and I will be 100% behind you, but James Kim will never, ever, be a hero in my book. And yes, I posted on the other threads too.
Sorry, I cannot agree with this statement. By this definition any tin horn terrorists who "thinks" they are doing the right thing is a hero? Nope.
Herosim is the act of selflessly sacrificing your own interests and life, if necessary, when it may not otherwise be required, for the true good and betterment of others.
Kim tried valiently to save his family...the actions he took during those days to keep them alive will undoubtedly be remembered as heroic by his family...they were privy to them, we were not. He ultimately tried to walk out to get help and that can be considered heroic as well, because he could have stayed with them.
In the end, what happened there was more tragic than anything else...but his wife and daughters survived and probably due to his oversite of the conditions while he was there with them, and his instructions to them when he left.
Living in this intermountain country for many years I can say that it was a fatal mistake to keep driving on unknown mountain roads with a wife and two young daughters when the weather turned bad, particularly when a winter strom was forecast to come into the area. It was a fatal mistake not to be dressed better for the conditions he faced. It was a fatal mistake to leave the road when he tried to walk out and head down that unknown drainage to try and get out. In this country the draingages can be steep and very inhospitalble in winter.
In spite of these mistakes, Kim also has the presence of mind and the good judegment to make decisions with what provisions and tools he had that saved his wife and daughters. That is what he should be remembered for, and I can just abnout bet that that is what his family will remember him for.