[Epapazian]

It has been said, one can measure a person's character and state of mind by knowing who his heroes are. My mom was always my greatest hero---as moms tend to be. But aside from her, I used to idolize public figures--movie stars like Wayne, Cooper, Bogart and Stewart, for example. And athletes such as Joe D, Mickey Mantle, etc.; leaders like Martin Luther King and, briefly, Jack Kennedy, and many others in the limelight who I believed in. But now most public figures mean nothing to me. Hollywood has turned to crap, you can't trust any politiician, and big money plus steroids and bad behavior has tarnished sports almost beyond redemption. Don't get me wrong. I still have heroes. But now they tend to be people I know little about----like the guys and gals fighting under our flag in Iraq or the passengers on Flight 93, who took back their plane and foiled the terrorists. I guess it's a question of trust, more than anything else. Anyway that's where I stand. Who are your heroes?

[STARMAN 352ND]

I know that John Wayne was cool...Jimmy Stewart was the real Hero of the Hollywood actors of WWII.
George Preddy and George Patton Jr .......
But every since i was a kid my real true hero has always been my father...I looked up to him more then anything
in this world and it was cool to have a fighter pilot jock as a Dad too...I went to one of his reunions a few years ago
and some of his old flying mates were telling me stories about my Dad during the war years and i was proud to call
him my father....
JP

[Shawn 507]

A few off the top:

- John Wayne
- General George S. Patton Jr.
- General James M. Gavin
- Col Benjamin H. Vandervoort
- Col Gregory Boyington
- Lt Audie Murphy
- The USO

My heroes have been and always will be US / Allied service members past, present and future. Guys who do what few remember, and fewer care about. I don't care about actors ( save the Duke, Stewart and a few others ), sports figures, singers or musical groups. I'd give a nod to Cops, Firemen, and EMT types. There are non-military types that I respect as well, but fall short of hero status.

[JustPlaneNuttz]

(Great topic!) In keeping with the spirit of this forum, I would have to say mine were the ones who fired my my imagination while instilling values I still hold onto today. Ones that immediately come to mind are:

-- Guy Gibson
-- Sir Douglas Bader
-- Robert Morgan

These guys I read about and admired. I called them heroes. Yet, they were everyday Joes, just looking to get on with their lives. It's how they did it that made the difference to me.

[Cruver Collecter]

When I was between 7 and 8 years old, it would have been Dave Dawson and Freddy Farmer from the Dave Dawson series books my father passed on to me. I can remember reading about their adventures in Dave Dawson in Lybia, taking on Me 109s and Me 110s in a Blackburn Skua (OK what was the author thinking about!). In all honesty though, I would have to say my Dad was my real hero. When he was deployed to Vietnam he sent me a huge box of models, so I know he was thinking about me. Shoot there was enough kits that I had a model every other day all summer long. When he was home we would drive all over in search of new hobby shops, or some obscure little airstrip. Yep, I sure had allot of fun with him as a kid. Even as an adult my father and I still did road trips to find airports or aircraft museums in search of that really neat plane. Shoot we spent most of the weekends this last 3 years flying rubber powered and hand launched gliders, of course now with my son too. Unfortunate we lost my father this last June do to a losing battle with cancer. He is sorely missed, and will always be my hero. My son and I continue the tradition now.

[Louie]

George Washington

[skydriver]

My dad, who passed away last year, is my hero. He taught me to always do the right thing, and that family is the most important thing in the world. He made me work in the family grocery store starting at age 12, and from that point on, I always knew to appreciate everything you have when you have to work to earn it.

[Nimrod48]

A great debate to have in a pub!! & my heroes are.....

Admiral Lord Nelson

Isombard Kingdom Brunel

Leonard Cheshire

Sir Winston Churchill

Field-Marshal the Vicount Montgomery of Alamein

Barnes Wallis

[jim]

Hmm, have to give this some thought,
Of course we immediately think of people like Patton, Nelson etc but in reality its they just represent the millions that have fought for our freedoms.

I think my heroes are all those that gave their lifes to protect us.
Thats what rememberence day is all about, its not much to ask of us all just to take a few moments and bow our heads in respect to those people.
Every day when we grumble about bills and how everything seems to be going wrong we should stop and think about what they went through so we can live our lives in freedom.
When you think about it we are very lucky, we dont have any of the hardships that our fathers and their fathers had to endure.

If we look back in our family we all have some one that gave all they had to win through.
My grandfather fought in the trenches in WW1, my father fought in the front line during WW2 both carried the scars of conflict for the rest of their lives.
What have I done, nothing except reap the benefits they won.

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

A few off the top:

- John Wayne
- General George S. Patton Jr.
- General James M. Gavin
- Col Benjamin H. Vandervoort
- Col Gregory Boyington
- Lt Audie Murphy
- The USO

My heroes have been and always will be US / Allied service members past, present and future. Guys who do what few remember, and fewer care about. I don't care about actors ( save the Duke, Stewart and a few others ), sports figures, singers or musical groups. I'd give a nod to Cops, Firemen, and EMT types. There are non-military types that I respect as well, but fall short of hero status.

I was recently watching the 1962 movie "The Longest Day" and I believe Col Vandervoort is played by John Wayne - whether John Wayne can be classified as an actor is another debate entirely ...