A True Story of Heroism

Discussion in 'General' started by AlphaQ, Mar 9, 2008.

  1. After reading and hearing so many awful stories both in the news and on here, I thought it would be nice to have an actual heart-warming story of three intertwined acts of incredible heroism:

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23538741/





    The article is a bit long, so here is a short synopsis for those in a hurry:

    A navy pilot, Fred Hargesheimer, is downed in the Pacific during WWII after being shot at by a Japanese plane. He struggles in the jungle for weeks until the courageous natives of a little village called Ewasse risk their own lives by hiding him from the Japanese search forces and literally nursing him back to health.

    After he is rescued by the navy, he returns to the U.S. and starts saving and raising money. Eventually Hargesheimer flies back to the tiny poverty-stricken village to build them a school. After his children grow up, he moves to the village with his wife and they build a library, another school, a clinic, and they become teachers. After his wife dies he returns to the U.S. but continues to help the village. Many of the students went on to get better jobs and even get degrees thanks to him.

    He returned a few years ago for the last time when he was 90 to help with another library and to see his old plane that had recently been found. He also talked with the wife of the Japanese pilot that shot him down and learned that the pilot decided not to go for the kill after his initial shots sent the plane spiraling down because he could not bring himself to kill a defenseless man.
     

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