Letter to Alan and Linda Sandlin Co-Chairs Flags for Heroes

Thank you so much for your invitation to share the dais with the many heroes who will grace your stage. While I will sponsor a hero, (my deceased father-in-law William Riedel, WW2 veteran), I will not share the dais because I am not a hero.

I was a college professor and textbook author for 28 years and influenced many thousands of young people but I am not a hero. I do not share your belief that “teachers, mentors, caregivers, or anyone who has had an impact on your life or the community” deserves to be called heroes. While myself and all of these other folks are community helpers, we are not heroes.

In my mind, a Hero is someone who willingly and intentionally puts his or her life at risk to protect or save another. Our men and women in uniform are the true heroes in our community. Our veterans and current service men and women, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service personnel are heroes. These folks knowingly and willingly fight for, protect, and rescue us day in and day out. They are the folks who run towards danger in order to protect us from it. They put their lives at risk to save ours. That is what makes them heroic.

So I will stand down and let these true heroes have the dais and the spotlight for this is a day and ceremony to raise a flag in their honor, not mine.

Thanks for all you do in honoring our true heroes.