Archive for the 'Unsung Heroes' Category

Harriet Quimby: Aviatrix One

Published on May 6, 2013 in Activist Heroes and Unsung Heroes. 6 Comments

By Rick Hutchins

In the early 20th Century, men and women were considered quite different animals and the social roles assigned to them reflected that belief. Women were expected to keep house and raise children while the adventures of invention and exploration were left to the men. Going beyond those expectations was not encouraged, and often punished. Most people conformed to those limitations, but some were not content to be grounded–- some, like Harriet Quimby, felt compelled to find new horizons.

Long before being bitten by the aviation bug, Quimby led an independent and liberated lifestyle that was the envy of many women of her day. An unmarried woman in New York City, she was a successful writer, turning out articles for the magazine Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly for many years, as well as several screenplays for DW Griffith in the early days of Hollywood. She was an “old maid” of thirty-five when she attended an international aviation tournament on Long Island and met famous aviator John Moisant (whose sister was to quickly follow in Quimby’s footsteps). Her first flying lessons soon followed. A headline in The New York Times, typical of the attitudes of that era, stated “Woman in Trousers Daring Aviator; Long Island Folk Discover That Miss Harriet Quimby Is Making Flights at Garden City.”

A year later, in 1911 (more than a decade before Amelia Earhart), Quimby became the first woman in the United States to earn an aviator’s certificate. Her friend Matilde Moisant became the second shortly thereafter.

But Quimby was not yet finished with making history. The next year, in April of 1912 (the day after the sinking of the Titanic), she became the first woman to pilot an aircraft across the English Channel.

Sadly, her next milestone was a tragic one. In July of 1912, she attended, and participated in, The Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet at Squantum on Dorchester Bay. While circling Boston Harbor, with event organizer William Willard as a passenger, her plane experienced unexpected turbulence and both pilot and passenger fell to their deaths, the plane crashing on the beach.

A century has now passed since the untimely death of Harriet Quimby. The romantic figure of the first aviatrix in her distinctive purple flight suit is all but forgotten. But thanks to her and others like her, the opportunities for women in society have expanded to a degree that few in her lifetime would have believed possible. Yet it is still true, well into the 21st Century, that both women and men are pressed to limit themselves to roles defined by their gender. Most will conform. But some will not be content to be grounded. And thanks to those like Harriet Quimby, their flight may be a little smoother.

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Rick Hutchins was born in Boston, MA, and has been an avid admirer of heroism since the groovy 60s. In his quest to live up to the heroic ideal of helping people, he has worked in the health care field for the past twenty-five years, in various capacities. He is also the author of Large In Time, a collection of poetry, The RH Factor, a collection of short stories, and is the creator of Trunkards. Links to galleries of his art, photography and animation can be found on http://www.RJDiogenes.com.

This is Hutchins’ fifth guest blog post here.  His first two, on astronaut and scientist Mae Jemison and the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards,  appears in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals.

Heroes of 9/11: The Passengers and Crew of United 93

Published on March 19, 2013 in Unsung Heroes and War Heroes. 3 Comments

By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals

As we approach the 12-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Americans continue to experience a range of strong emotions.  There remains deep sadness about the losses suffered that day.  There is still anger at the people who perpetrated the assaults, and the toxic mix of political, theological and economic conditions that fed their hatred.  And there continue to be reaffirmations of the goodness, resilience and courage of America and its citizens.

One of the ways we have coped with the tragedy is to remember the heroes who stepped forward that day.  Many paid the ultimate price to combat the terror and help us get back on our feet.  In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “they gave the last full measure of devotion.” There were numerous such heroes in New York and Washington, DC.  But few made as much difference as the passengers on United 93.  Their story will be remembered for as long as this nation survives.

United Airlines Flight 93 was bound from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco that brilliant Tuesday morning.  It was delayed for about 45 minutes due to air traffic congestion, finally taking off at 8:42 AM.  Four hijackers began their takeover at 9:28 AM.  By that time the two flights from Boston had crashed into the World Trade Center.  The Pentagon would be hit in a few minutes.

During the hijacking itself, the four men apparently killed the pilot and co-pilot, and herded the passengers into the back of the aircraft.  Luckily, some passengers and flight attendants were able to use cell phones or airphones to call family members or contact GTE operators.  Slowly, what had happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon came into focus.

Many passengers’ relatives tried to console their loved ones, and saying that everything would be okay.  Intense fear very frequently leads to denial.  Initially both those in the air and those on the ground had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that the plane was on a suicide mission.  Once that was clear – and it became clear to those on the plane before those on the ground – the passengers reacted quickly.  It’s a good thing.  When the plane crashed, it was only twenty minutes from Washington, DC.

We don’t know who organized the counterattack.  It began at 9:57 AM.  The passengers voted to break into the cockpit to try to retake control of the plane.  Flight attendants helped.  One called her husband and told him that they were preparing boiling water to throw at the hijackers.  And we don’t know exactly how the passengers overwhelmed the hijackers and breached the cabin.

But the last words of one man are iconic.  They were overheard by the GTE operator he had reached by airphone:  “Are you guys ready?  Okay.  Let’s roll.”  It sounds like a line from a movie, but it happened to real people acting under the most terrifying circumstances imaginable.  They knew they were going to die.  But they wanted to prevent more death and destruction in the nation’s capital.

Most experts believe that United 93′s target was the Capitol building itself, though it may have been the White House or Camp David.  The hijackers’ mission failed due to acts of heroism that are as unalloyed as they come.  The nation will be forever grateful to the heroes of United 93.

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Do you have any heroes you would like us to profile?  If so, please contact Scott Allison as sallison@richmond.edu.

Night Witches: The Forgotten Aviatrixes

Published on March 7, 2013 in Unsung Heroes and War Heroes. 2 Comments

By Jesse Schultz

There was a controversy in the early 1990s. U.S. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin announced in 1993 that for the first time in US history, women would be allowed to fly combat missions. It was a field that was traditionally dominated by men and by that date there were still many who felt that it should remain that way. The debate played out in the nightly news and in television shows ranging from JAG to Northern Exposure. Even a close family member of mine, who was a veteran of the second World War and had a long Naval career, expressed mild opposition to it.

But it was a controversy that should never have happened for the simple reason that woman had flown combat missions before and had done it successfully during World War II. Not in the United States, where most are aware of the non-combat Women’s Army Corp (or WACs), but in the Soviet Union.

In the summer of 1941 Russian aviatrix Marina Raskova was tasked with forming a regiment of night bombers to conduct strikes against German positions. This tactic was known as harassment bombing. Raskova in turn formed a unit composed entirely by women, from the mechanics to the pilots themselves and the 588th Regiment was born.

During the course of the war the squadron would fly some 23,000 sorties and drop an estimated 3000 tons of bombs. Impressive for a regiment that at its height only had 40 two-person crews. Impressive enough that it was the Germans who gave them their name:  Nachthexen, or Night Witches. Even more amazing was that the Night Witches were given obsolete Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, aircraft that were originally designed for crop dusting and training, to conduct their operations in.

And really this is where the Night Witches were truly inspirational. Not only because they were among the first at something, or unsung, or overcame adversity (though they deserve recognition for all of that).  It is because they turned that adversity into advantage. While the Po-2s were slow, lightly armed, and vulnerable the Night Witches found that they did have their advantages. The slow air speed of the plane often placed them below the stall speed of the German fighters sent to attack them. The slow speed also allowed the pilots to fly close to the ground and use trees and buildings as cover. And being biplanes the Night Witches could shut their engines off and silently glide to their targets, effectively performing some of the first stealth bombing missions. The Germans would often have no idea an attack was coming until the bombs were dropping.

By the end of the war, 30 members of the Night Witches had died in combat and 23 were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title, the highest distinction in the Soviet Union at the time.

However, after the end of the war the women pilots found their opportunities increasingly limited. Politics of the Cold War kept their exploits from western attention. But as their lesson is now too late for the debate of 1993, we can still learn from them and others who went before. Whenever a society or a culture or a stereotype insists that this group or that group cannot do something there will always be an example from history to refute the notion. Be it an ethnic group striving for new opportunities, or a religion group seeking to live their lives peacefully, or a gender who can defend their country with the same valor as their counterparts.

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The author, Jesse Schultz, is a life long admirer of aviation, history, and women- though not necessarily in that order. His previous musings on heroism include Love Thy Enemy: Opposing Heroes.  His previous blogs on Merlin and The Makers of Fire will appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals.

Survivors of Trauma: Heroes Emerging From the Darkness

Published on February 23, 2013 in Unsung Heroes. 6 Comments

By Lisa Compton

As I trauma therapist, I have the privileged experience of working with people I consider true heroes — those who have been through painful traumatic events and find the courage to continue living a productive life.  Trauma survivors are some of the bravest people I know.  Counseling those that have experienced trauma is both rewarding and challenging for the therapist.

As I sit with client after client that has survived various types of trauma, I am in awe of the depth of our experiences as trauma counselors.  The most severely wounded and hurting are entrusted into our care.  Their painful memories and broken spirits seek out our “expertise” often as a last hope to make sense of the chaos that surrounds the human existence.

The clients that become fixated in our own minds and trigger our countertransference are the ones who have suffered the most extreme of what this earth has to offer.  Our curiosity is often peaked by their remarkably horrifying stories and our minds sent into a whirlwind of pondering, “Could this ever happen to me?”

Treatment starts with a cry within our own spirits — what do I have to offer this client that will ease the pain, and is easing the pain even possible? We rely on our past successes with wounded clients to combat the helplessness we feel as we sit passively witnessing their trauma narratives.  We are not able to help all of them. The threat of suicides lingers in the therapeutic air as the ultimate failure of treatment.

However, there are those who are heroically able to overcome the odds.  There is a hope for even the most extreme cases that the human soul can thrive after experiencing the deepest wounds.  It is based on this hope that we ask the client to rip off the scab that has provided a barrier of protection and share with us the cuts that run to their core.  An intimacy of trust develops between them and us.  Our small office with a chair and sofa transforms into sacred ground where the evil that was meant to destroy them becomes overtaken by the power of healing and survival.

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Lisa Compton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Trauma Specialist.  She was once a student of Scott Allison’s at the University of Richmond.

Chiune Sugihara: The Hero Who Didn’t Walk Away

Published on January 24, 2013 in Unsung Heroes and War Heroes. 2 Comments

By Jesse Schultz

There is a surprisingly profound line towards the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  It is uttered by Professor Dumbledore, who says “It takes great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends”. This idea is particularly true in warfare where actions by enemy troops are vilified, while actions by friends and allies are often excused or ignored. We see this phenomenon play out even today as the United States struggles with whether “enhanced interrogation” techniques are legal and ethical, and with the legitimacy of killing civilians during drone strikes.

This was a situation facing a man named Chiune Sugihara in the waning years of Imperial Japan when he bore witness to the beginning of one of the most abhorrent acts of evil ever committed.  Born in Yaotsu, Japan on January 1, 1900, Chiune Sugihara was raised in a middle-class rural family. His physician father had wished him to follow in his footsteps but Chiune purposely failed the required exams and instead majored in the English language and passed the Foreign Ministry Scholarship exam. He was soon recruited by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and sent to China.

It was in China that hints of his future acts of heroism would come to light. During this time Japan had invaded China and the mistreatment of the locals was commonplace. In protest of the way the Chinese were being treated, Chiune resigned his post as Deputy Foreign Minister in Manchuria.

In 1939 Chiune was then sent to the Japanese Consulate in Lithuania. On September 1st of that year Nazi Germany invaded Poland and the persecution of Jews began almost immediately. By 1940 Jewish refugees from Poland and from within Lithuania itself began to seek ways to flee the country. This required visas and many countries were refusing to issue them. Japan itself had stringent requirements that the refugees did not meet. Chiune inquired to his superiors three times requesting instructions, but in all cases requests to issue the visas were declined.

It might have been easier to simply walk away and do nothing but instead, in July of 1940, against orders, Sugihara started issuing visas and even directly negotiated with officials of the Soviet Union to allow the refugees to pass through Russia on their way to Japan. He continued to write visas, reportedly spending 18-20 hours a day until September 4th when the Consulate was closed. During the night prior to the closing, Chiune and his wife Yukiko spent the entire night writing visas, and Chiune was reportedly even preparing them en route to the train station where he threw them out the window of the train to waiting refugees as it left the station. In a final act of desperation he resorted to throwing blank pages with the Consulate seal and his signature, which could be filled out later.

The exact number of Jews saved by Chiune Sugihara is not known but estimates put the number around 6,000. By comparison Oskar Schildler saved around 1,100 to 1,200 lives.  Chiune’s actions seemed to have given him few accolades immediately after the war. The Japanese foreign office asked him to resign due to downsizing –  though some have suspected it might have stemmed from his activities in Lithuania. To make a living he began selling light bulbs door-to-door and later he found work in an export company.

Finally in 1968 he was located by one of his beneficiaries and later visited Israel. In 1985 he was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations award by the Israeli government. In June of the next year Chiune Sugihara passed away in Kamakura, Japan.  Today he has streets in Lithuania named after him, an asteroid (25893 Sugihara), a synagogue in Massachusetts, a memorial at his birthplace and in Lithuania, and a memorial in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. It seems inaccurate to refer to Chiune Sugihara as an “unsung hero” due to his many honors but many more should hear his story.

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The author, Jesse Schultz, has contributed several other essays on heroism here, including Love Thy Enemy: Opposing Heroes and Night Witches: the Forgotten Aviatrixes.  Two of his previous blog posts on Merlin and The Makers of Fire will appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals.

 

Katelin Peterson: An Inspirational and Heroic Student-Athlete

Published on November 1, 2012 in Unsung Heroes. 1 Comment

By Paige Venables, Jess Hollis, and Chelsea Davies

Katelin Peterson, a former student athlete at the University of Richmond who majored in psychology and served as captain for the varsity women’s field hockey team, has left a legacy and continues to inspire an ever-growing list of individuals. Besides her impressive resume of athletic and academic accomplishments, Katelin brings a smile and a positive attitude to any situation no matter how bad the circumstances. She believes wholeheartedly in Christianity and lives by her faith, always upholding good morals and values. Katelin is a remarkable leader in the classroom, on the field, and in her faith. She was involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and often inspired others by sharing her testimony at Fellowship of Christian Athlete events.

During the summer of 2011 her team received an email explaining that Katelin was in the hospital suffering from a serious blood infection known as septicemia. She was in and out of the hospital for weeks, receiving treatments and tests yet continued to stay positive and fight to get better in time for the fall season. Septicemia often results in death due to gradual organ failure but Katelin never questioned God’s plan and beat the dire odds against her, eventually making a full recovery. When she returned to the University of Richmond she still was able to perform well and lead the team. In order to prepare for the grueling two-a-day practices Katelin had to complete her summer workouts in front of a fan because sweating was dangerous for her due to the nature of the infection. She didn’t dwell on her own setbacks but continued to work hard not only for herself, but also as a mentor for the rest of the team. She led the field hockey team to an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Title and a bid to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and received academic and athletic Atlantic 10 All-Conference Honors.

Since her graduation from the University of Richmond, Katelin has become an advocate and volunteer for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, spreading her story and her faith to new generations of young athletes. Her goal is to go into missionary work in the future. Her chosen profession is as noble and uplifting as she is.

Katelin is a member of the University of Richmond field hockey team whose presence is sorely missed by all. On the first day of fall 2012 preseason, Katelin surprised the entire team by traveling all the way from her home in sunny California to be at the University of Richmond at the 7 o’clock morning practice where the team was about to run their first and most dreaded fitness test. Upon seeing cheerful and smiling face teammates reacted with powerful emotions, many crying and laughing out of joy and disbelief. It was only fitting that Katelin would get the team through their most difficult first day.

Katelin has exuded the best qualities a person can possess. Anyone who knows her has been touched by her presence and continues to remember her effervescent personality fondly. She is both a role model and a hero for any who hear her story.

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Paige Venables, Jess Hollis, and Chelsea Davies are undergraduate students at the University of Richmond.  They are enrolled in Scott Allison’s Social Psychology course and composed this essay as part of their course requirement.

Tony Mendez: The Audacious Hero of ‘Argo’

Published on October 26, 2012 in Unsung Heroes. 2 Comments

By Mallory Krause, Olivia Peros, and Lizzie Ruggieri

Tony Mendez is a former CIA agent who specialized in covert CIA operations for 25 years. Recently, his actions over three decades ago have propelled him to the status of hero to the general public.  The recent release of the 2012 movie Argo, starring Ben Affleck, tells the long-classified story of Mendez’s heroism.  Argo highlights his role in the Canadian caper operation during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.  This operation involved successfully sneaking six American diplomats out of Iran by disguising them as a Canadian film crew.  Mendez was the mastermind behind this risky rescue.

Here is the backdrop to the heroic tale.  On November 4th, 1979, Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran.  Six American diplomats were working in a separate building on the embassy compound when they noticed Iranian students swarming over the wall.  They made a quick decision to flee into the streets of Tehran in search of refuge.  For the next six days they went from house to house, and finally sought the help of a Canadian ambassador.  For the next 79 days, the group hid in Canadian ambassador John Sheardown’s personal residence.  They lived in fear that the Iranians would somehow discover they had escaped, a discovery that would no doubt lead to their execution.

Working together, the Canadian and U.S. governments decided to smuggle the six out of the country using Canadian passports, but needed a plausible story and a plan to do so.  Thus, they enlisted Tony Mendez to develop a cover story, documents, and materials to change the fugitives’ appearances. Mendez came up with an elaborate scheme requiring that the six diplomats pose as a Hollywood science fiction film crew scouting movie locations in Tehran.  The plan was an enormous risk and if caught, Mendez would join the other six in the hands of the Iranians.

Despite the inherent dangers, Mendez entered Iran and implemented his plan to perfection. On January 27, 1980, the refugees, now traveling with their forged Canadian passports, boarded a flight for Sweden, and arrived there safely.  The full involvement of the CIA, and more specifically of Mendez, in the rescue was not made public until 1997 when Bill Clinton declassified secret documents. While Canada was publicly credited for the escape, Tony Mendez was but an anonymous ghost, not receiving any recognition for his valiant efforts in his incredible escape plot.

Mendez’s rescue plan was audacious and outrageous, yet he risked his own life to help the six American come home safely.  He devised a meticulous plan that many believed was reckless and doomed to failure, but Mendez stuck to it. Although luck had much to do with the plan’s success, the six Americans most likely would have died a violent death without Mendez’s relentless efforts and bravery. In our opinion, the fact that he accomplished this amazing feat and went home without acknowledgement from the public while continuing to work for the CIA is heroic in itself. For decades he was a transparent hero who did not need recognition or public fanfare.  To the Iranians, Mendez may be considered a villain, but to the American people and to the six lives he saved, he was a true and brave hero.

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Mallory Krause, Olivia Peros, and Lizzie Ruggieri are undergraduate students at the University of Richmond.  They are enrolled in Scott Allison’s Social Psychology course and composed this essay as part of their course requirement.  

Doctors Without Borders: Heroes Who Heal Others

Published on October 22, 2012 in Unsung Heroes. 7 Comments

By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals

The most heroic people are often those who do their selfless work anonymously. They seek neither credit nor publicity. Guided by humanitarian motives only, these heroes genuinely want to make the world a better place, and they don’t think twice about invisibly making great sacrifices – sometimes even giving their lives – to help save others.

Doctors Without Borders is an organization composed of such heroic people. In doing our research for this blog post, we tried our best to identify the names of the doctors and journalists who founded Doctors Without Borders back in 1971. There is no historical account that we could find. Moreover, there is no listing of the current group of physicians who work without pay, often at great risk, to treat others. All of these heroic individuals prefer to remain anonymous.

Doctors Without Borders is known throughout most of the world by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières. The organization is composed of doctors worldwide who are committed to bringing quality medical care to people in crisis. Doctors Without Borders was founded on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. The organization is completely neutral and provides medical treatment to people regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation. It never takes sides in armed conflicts and provides care on the basis of need alone.

“We find out where the conditions are the worst – the places where others are not going – and that’s where we want to be,” says Nicolas de Torrente, Executive Director of the group. Doctors Without Borders is currently active in more than 60 countries, helping people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe. The volunteer physicians face supreme challenges in treating maladies resulting from malnutrition, epidemics, natural disasters, armed conflict, or exclusions from health care.

What exactly are these challenges? Volunteers for the organization have been hit by stray bullets, stepped on mines, and caught epidemic diseases. Sometimes they are attacked or kidnapped for political reasons. In some countries afflicted by warfare, humanitarian aid organizations are judged to be assisting the enemy, especially if an aid mission has been set up exclusively for victims on one side of a conflict.

More than 40 years after being founded, Doctors Without Borders continues to save lives across the globe. Most recently, in Ethiopian refugee camps, volunteers for the organization appear to be turning the tide against severe famine and disease. “When Doctors Without Borders opened the Hilaweyn clinic in August, children were dying of malnutrition at the rate of more than one a day,” said a Voice of America news source. “Two months later, the clinic’s emergency coordinator Aria Danika said they treat 1,000 cases a day, and only one child has died in the past two weeks.”

In 1999, Doctors Without Borders won the Nobel Peace Prize. We can think of no more deserving group of people. In accepting the award, then-president Dr. James Orbinski thanked the Nobel committee for affirming Doctors Without Borders’ pledge “to remain committed to its core principles of volunteerism, impartiality and its belief that every person must be recognized in his or her humanity.”

Below is a youtube clip that describes the heroic work of Doctors Without Borders in greater detail.

Caregivers: Heroes with a Different Kind of Courage

Published on August 31, 2012 in Unsung Heroes. 7 Comments

By Linda Brendle

A hero is defined as a person who is admired for courage or noble qualities or is the main character in a book, play or movie who is typically identified with good qualities. A caregiver is defined as a family member or paid helper who regularly takes care of a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person.  In many cases, the hero and the caregiver are the same person.

Heroism often involves acts of courage. Facing a life of caring for a child with cerebral palsy who will never walk or talk or learn to care for himself takes a different kind of courage than facing the bullets of an enemy, a kind of courage that puts careers, relationships, plans, privacy, and personal lives on hold. Caring for a parent facing the ravages of Alzheimer’s and old age requires the courage to watch helplessly as a loved one slips away, one ability at a time, one memory at a time.

Aunt Fay is a courageous woman. At a time when her five children were grown and gone, and she and Uncle Dean were beginning to enjoy the benefits of an empty nest, she took in her widowed mother and spent the next decade or so caring for the woman who gave her life. Like all heroes, she didn’t count the cost of sleepless nights, cold meals, or missed vacations but rather did what needed to be done for someone who could not help herself. When Aunt Fay could no longer care for Granny Hagan in her home, she chose a suitable care facility and continued to fight for her through the web of red tape and the bureaucracy of aging in our modern society.

After Granny died, Aunt Fay and Uncle Dean enjoyed several years of special time together. Then came the brain tumor. Uncle Dean was incapacitated, and Aunt Fay became a caregiver again. Once more she dealt with doctors, wheelchairs, baths, medications, insurance, facing it all with grace and nobility.

Jim is my older brother, and one of the things he loves about being older is being a grandpa. He has eight grandchildren, and loves them all dearly, but Kyle is special. Jim was at the hospital when Kyle was born, when he began having seizures, when the doctors examined and tested and announced that he had cerebral palsy. Kyle is now 15, and through the years, Jim has been one of his caregivers, spending as much time with him as possible. There have been times when circumstances separated them by miles, but there has always been a heart connection. Jim has never been afraid of or put off by the messiness of loving Kyle. He dresses him, bathes him, moves him from car to wheelchair to bed, feeds him, always with a good deal of teasing, but also with gentleness and caring.

Becoming a hero or a caregiver is not something a person plans to do. Heroism is often thrust on a person, but caregiving sometimes creeps up on you. Mom began showing signs of memory loss more than 15 years ago. At first it was more a source of irritation than anything else, but after several years, it began causing problems, especially when Dad started exhibiting some of the same symptoms. I lived close and dropped in often for a visit, so it seemed natural to check on the freshness of the food in their refrigerator or the cleanliness of their bathrooms. Gradually I began accompanying them on doctors’ visits and supervising their daily medications, and eventually they moved in with me. That’s when Aunt Fay and Jim became my personal heroes. She offered wise advice from her own experiences, cried and prayed with me through many crises, and reassured me when I second guessed my decisions. And when I reached critical mass and called Jim to say I can’t do this anymore, he picked up the reins and stepped in as Mom and Dad’s primary caregiver.

Like heroes, caregivers are admired for their courage in the face of adversity and their noble character that causes them to handle ignoble tasks with grace and love. Caregivers may never be the main character in a book, play or movie, but they are definitely the main characters in the lives of those in their care. Yes, caregivers are heroes, too.

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Linda Brendle is retired and lives with her husband David in Emory, Texas. She writes about caregiving, faith, and family at http://www.LifeAfterCaregiving.WordPress.com. You can also find her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/linda.brendle) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/LindaBrendle).

Why Our Mothers are Our Heroes

Published on May 12, 2012 in Unsung Heroes. 21 Comments

clip_image006.jpgBy Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals

Each year we celebrate Mother’s Day, and this reminds us of the results of a study we conducted recently that underscored the importance of family members as heroes.  In the study, people of all ages and from all walks of life were asked to list their heroes.  We were surprised, yet pleased, to see that family members were listed about a third of the time.  Most importantly, one fourth of all people listed their mothers as their hero.  Mothers were mentioned more than any other person, including fathers.

Mother’s Day became a nationally recognized holiday in 1914 because of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, a West Virginian who campaigned to honor mothers after her own beloved mother passed away in 1905.  Ironically, by the 1920s Jarvis became disenchanted with the commercialization of Mother’s Day and began campaigning against the holiday.  Anna JarvisStill, we believe her initial sentiment was on target and we applaud the opportunity to recognize the heroic qualities of mothers everywhere.

Many highly accomplished individuals are quick to attribute their success to their mothers.  American presidents are especially likely to do so.  Abraham Lincoln once noted that “all that I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.”  George Washington also observed that “all I am I owe to my mother.  I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”  Andrew Jackson claimed that “there never was a woman like my mother.  She was as gentle as a dove and as brave as a lioness.”

Other celebrities also express their indebtedness to their mothers.  Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong once said, “My mother gave me more than any teacher or father figure ever had.”  With these words, Armstrong identified the precise reason why so many of us view our mothers as heroes.  It’s all about the loving generosity of mothers.  When the participants in our study were asked why their mothers were heroic, they generated three main reasons:  generosity with time, money, and love.

There are many ways that mothers gave their time to us.  According to survey respondents, mothers tended to us when we were sick, accompanied us to school and soccer practice, made us dinner, and read stories to us.  Our mothers made financial sacrifices, too.  They wore old clothes so that we could wear new clothes; they took on part-time jobs to buy us gifts; they saved money for us to attend college; mothers_day_cake.jpgthey gave us our weekly allowance; and they made sure we had food on the table.

But the most important quality that distinguishes mothers from other heroes, including fathers, is the free offering of love that mothers give us.  Mothers were there for us when we needed emotional support.  Mothers hugged us.  They comforted us and let us sit on their laps.  They kissed us on our cheeks before school and at bedtime at night.

Why are mothers viewed as so heroically loving?  There are at least two reasons.  First, research has shown that women tend to be more likely than men to possess communal traits such as lovingness, affection, warmth, and nurturance.  These communal traits are highly valued in the context of raising children and are associated with morality and goodness.  Second, it is well known that during childhood, mothers are our primary attachment figures.  They are more likely than fathers to interact with, and bond with, infants.  Our society is no doubt evolving toward fathers having more communal traits and showing more attachment behaviors, but mothers still hold the edge.

And so on this Mother’s Day, we’d like to acknowledge and thank Anna Jarvis and all the women who have given so much to us all.  We wish everyone the happiest of Mother’s Days!

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Do you have a hero that you would like us to profile?  Please send your suggestions to Scott T. Allison (sallison@richmond.edu) or to George R. Goethals (ggoethal@richmond.edu).