We are surrounded by heroes. On February 29, 2016, Navy SEAL and Corpsman Edward Byers will receive the nation’s highest medal for his actions in 2012 in Afghanistan when special warfare operators rescued an American doctor who had been kidnapped by the Taliban. According to a defense official quoted in Navy Times, “There’s no margin of doubt or possibility of error in awarding this honor. His actions were so conspicuous in terms of bravery and self-sacrifice that they clearly distinguished him to be worthy of the award, including risk of his own life.”
The account of the dramatic rescue can be read in “Navy SEAL to receive Medal of Honor for U.S. civilian rescue in Afghanistan”.
We sometimes get caught up in the trivialities of day-to-day life and forget that there are true heroes still out there protecting the things we hold dear. What Senior Chief Byers did was the stuff of legend, and the manifestation of what it means to be an American.
