Contributor: Josh Hall
This article is dedicated to all the people that have suffered due to the tragic events of this past week, and the heroes that emerged as a result. You all not only helped to save lives, but inspired and gave hope to a lot of people that desperately needed it. For that, all I can say is: Thank you.
As you all know, Undercard Superstar is a combat sports site. We like to make jokes and have a good time with what we do, but sometimes we do feel the need to get a little bit serious. I have nothing cute or funny to say in this piece, but rather a message of thanks to some of the people that are most deserving of it.
America was struck by the first successful terror bombing last week at the Boston Marathon since 9/11/01. Two extremist brothers of Chechen descent did the unthinkable, making IED’s out of pressure cookers, and setting them off after runners has begun to finish the race. You will NOT hear their names uttered once in this piece. I’m sure anyone reading those already knows exactly who they are, and this article is not about them. The reason for this piece is the same reason terrorism will never win. When something awful like this happens there are always people that will rise to the occasion and go above and beyond to help their fellow citizens. While the horrible actions may have the desired effect of scaring people, it also acts as a catalyst to bring forward the people that make a person proud to be a member of humanity.
Sadly enough, this was not the only tragedy that happened in the past week in America. Last Wednesday, there was a terrible fire that broke out at a chemical plant in West, Texas (just outside of Waco). Volunteer firefighters raced to the scene, only to have the worst case scenario occur. An explosion occurred that was so violent it could be felt 50 miles away and registered as an earthquake with a 2.1 magnitude on the Richter scale. These first responders never had a chance. Their heroism required them to pay the ultimate price, and they should be commended posthumously for what they did. Those are the names that should not merely fade away, but that deserve to be remembered for their sacrifice. Whether fighting a fire, an explosion, or terrorists, what these people thousands of miles apart share is a fighting spirit and the courage to risk everything to save a life.
Now that all of that is out of the way, let’s get to the important stuff. The people we should all strive to be like. I don’t want the rest of this article to be somber. People are still hurting all over the country, and they deserve to know they aren’t alone in all of this. We all have to stick together in these times of crisis, for we are always strongest when presenting a united front. This is a celebration of great people, some alive, and some that sacrificed their lives to what is right.
One of the iconic images from Boston just after the bombs went off is of a young man with both of his legs blown off at the knees, and a man in a cowboy hat, hands covered in blood from the tourniquet he had applied to the man’s legs, still squeezing an artery closed with his bare hands. http://media.heavy.com/media/2013/04/Jeff-Bauman.jpg
It is a graphic photo that is hard to look at, but it was somehow fitting that these two men became linked on that tragic day. The man whose legs were blown off is Jeff Bauman, and shortly I will talk about how he went from victim to hero in a remarkable display of courage. But first, we are going to talk about the man who saved his life. The man in the cowboy hat is Carlos Arredondo, a 53 year old Bostonian by way of Costa Rica. He is no stranger to tragedy, having lost his 20 year old son fighting terrorism in the Iraq War in 2004, and then his other son to suicide as a result of the death of his brother.
Carlos became a peace activist, protesting against war while trying to keep the memory of his lost children alive. He was only at the Boston Marathon to pass out 200 American flags out of his tribute to his sons on Patriots’ Day. He was left with only this one: http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2013/04/16/carlos-arredondo-boston-marathon-hero-in-a-cowboy-hat-on-the-bombs/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage_0.img.503.jpg/1366110058011.cached.jpg
When the first bomb exploded and panic ensued, witnesses on the scene say that Arredondo vaulted the barrier between the course and spectators, immediately looking for anyone to help. The first person he found was Jeff Bauman, desperately trying to stand despite missing the bottom half of both legs. Arredondo did everything he could to stem the bleeding, and was able to procure a wheelchair and fight through the crowd of people to get Bauman to EMS.
As a result of Arredondo’s heroic actions, Jeff Bauman not only survived, but then stepped up and joined the man that saved him in the hero department. Bauman went through surgery that involved his legs being removed at the knees as a result of the damage taken from the blast. He woke up in an excruciating amount of pain, but the first thing he did was ask for a pen and paper. He wrote this: “Bag, saw the guy, looked right at me.”
http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/04/jeff-bauman-boston-marathon-amputee-ids-bomber/
As it turned out, the bag with one of the bombs had been placed at his feet by the younger of the two terrorists, and he had looked him dead in the eye. His statement, combined with video evidence taken from the scene, helped the FBI to identify the two suspects, and certainly played a big part in stopping them from setting off further explosions. In what had to be one of the absolute worst moments of his existence, waking to the realization his life as he knew it would never be the same, the first thing he did was try to help. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what being a hero is all about. It’s about putting the needs of others above your own, simply because it is the right thing to do.
That is the same thing the first responders did in West, Texas when the fire began at the fertilizer plant. They knew the mixture of highly explosive chemicals that was there, and they knew that it was likely to detonate at some point. But real heroes don’t worry about that sort of thing. These VOLUNTEERS (and I cannot stress that point enough) willingly jumped into the line of fire because there were people to save. For them, it was just a matter of doing the right thing, no matter the cost.
All the names of these heroes have not been released yet, and I am not going to editorialize much about them. I would love to be able to give you a lot of detail about these great people, but not as much has been written about them, and I am not going to contact their families in this time of grieving. That would be in terribly poor taste in my opinion, but I will share with you the details I have been able to find.
Dallas Fire-rescue Captain Kenny Harris, a West resident, was one of the many first responders killed in the subsequent explosion. Morris Bridges left the porch where he sat with his wife after smelling smoke and never returned. Cyrus Reed, Jerry Chapman and Perry Calvin were involved in a training exercise when they raced to the scene to help, subsequently losing their lives. Perry’s father Phil had this to say to the Dallas Morning News: “Some of the workers there said it looked like it was going to explode,” Phil Calvin said, tears in his voice. “He stayed on the hose so some of them could make it out. That sounds like him; he was going to be right in the thick of it.”
Volunteer firefighter Buck Uptmor was killed trying get horses away from the fire to save as many as he could. West lost its City Secretary and fellow firefighter Joey Pustejovsky at the scene as well, and sadly there are likely to be more bodies found in the rubble. To this point 14 people have been confirmed dead, and 11 of those people were first responders. I don’t have all of their names, but if anyone reading this knows of someone I left out, please contact me and I will edit it to include them.
It has been a terrible, trying week for American citizens. The feeling of helplessness in these situations is a desperate one, but the best way to move forward (in my humble opinion, at least) is to band together and rally around those people that have shown us the greatness people are capable of. In the worst of times, the true character of a person will always emerge. As a society, we owe it to each other to praise and respect the people that stood up for the right thing in these awful situations. With all the bad in the world, these are the people that give us the greatest gift of all: hope.
On behalf of the staff here at Undercard Superstar, we commend each and every one of you. The world is a better place thanks to your actions, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Boston strong. Texas strong. America strong.
-Josh can be reached @jhall282 or [email protected].
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