HeroicStories

by Sally M. Via
Countryside, Illinois, USA

It was around 1955 when we were living in rural Hewett, West Virginia, that my oldest brother, Jimmy Nichols, became my hero. Jimmy was 11 or 12 years old and was riding his bicycle, passing by the local beer joint in Hewett, when he heard a loud thundering noise and glanced around to discover an unoccupied coal truck, partially loaded with coal, barreling down a small hill directly toward the beer joint full of men. Some were locals, some were coal miners who had stopped on their way home from a hard day at the mines to grab a cold beer.

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Amy K. Brown
Everett, Washington, USA

My husband, our then 2-year-old son, and I had just come out of our local grocery store late one evening in November 1998. The cart was full, it was pouring freezing rain, and we desperately wanted nothing more than to get baby and groceries home and dry.

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by Bonny Yegon
Kenya

In April of 2001, I was pick-pocketed in Nairobi, Kenya, and I lost not only a very expensive phone but also all my contacts. I reported the matter to the police station because I knew my phone had a phone tracker and could be tracked.

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by Mike Gallagher
Florida, USA

About 1976 my family and I left North Georgia to spend Christmas in Orlando, Florida. We were driving a 1972 Audi sedan, which was comfortable for us with our two children, 10 and 12 years old. The car developed what sounded like an engine miss, so I stopped several times to check under the hood. Except for a worn spark plug wire I could find no problems.

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by Annginette Anderson Moos
Vermont, USA

In 1992 I was a graduate student majoring in health care management. We were preparing for careers like hospital administration or pharmaceutical marketing. Our department arranged a weekly “shadowing” opportunity, where students spent the day with a physician, nurse, or health professional in a clinical setting.

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by Seth Gwinn
Nebraska, USA

In August of 2003, my family was traveling to Nebraska from Branson, Missouri. After a short vacation, my wife, Jan, our two daughters, ages 9 and 8, and I were on our way back home.

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by Chris Wilson
Los Gatos, California, USA

Our family moved from Scotland to Virginia when I was seven years old. My father is an avid golfer so one day shortly after our arrival we went to the driving range. While he was busy hitting golf balls, I was busy exploring the area like any normal 7-year-old.

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by Angel Torres
Florida, USA

In December 2005 I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. I was a Marine being deployed for seven months to Iraq, given leave to come home before going to the desert. It’s an 18-hour flight from Okinawa to the U.S. I had to catch a different flight in Houston, Texas to Miami, my destination.

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by Barbara Crawford
Maryland, USA

I’ve taken a lot of classes in my life. Many were enjoyable, some were useful, some were tedious and some were just a waste of time. Only a very few actually taught me things I’ve used in my professional career.

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by Jodi Orens-Lante
Florida, USA

One hot afternoon in August, 2002, a small van passed in front of my pasture, slowed down, backed up and then sped up my driveway. Alarmed, I ran out to meet two men at my gate. “You have a horse stuck in a tree,” they said. I thought, one of the babies stuck a halter in a tree — but those flimsy little foal figure-eight halters break and slip off if you breath on them, how could one be stuck?

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