What is it about the pending disaster of an explosive grenade thrown at the feet of some soldiers that causes them to react the same way? They do not run away. They leap on the explosion and court immediate death to save their fellow soldiers.
We thank two Illinois Marines in the World War II battle for Okinawa for their instinctive heroism on two separate events. We honor such heroes because it is appropriate and meaningful. They offered themselves as a gift to others.
Cpl. Richard Earl Bush leaped on a live grenade to save his platoon. On April 16, 1945, Bush absorbed the force of the explosion, saving the lives of 10 fellow Marines.
Inexplicably, he survived his horrific wounds.
Although he was a tobacco farmer as a young man in Kentucky, he served northern Illinois veterans In the years after the war.
Bush worked for the Veterans Administration in Lake County until 1972 as a counselor helping veterans file claims. He was repeatedly honored as a civilian for helping other veterans despite constant problems with his one functioning eye, a reminder of his World War II wounds.
Bush died of a heart ailment at age 79 in 2004 in Waukegan. He is buried at Ascension Catholic Cemetery in Libertyville.
On May 7, 1945, Cpl. John Pete Fardy’s platoon was advancing against a well-fortified Japanese force on Okinawa when a grenade landed at his feet. The Alsip native, the pride of Leo High School and platoon leader in the 1st Marine Division, leaped to deliberately absorb the blast.
He died immediately.
There is no evidence the two Marines knew each other, but both reacted the same way. Why? It might be more than a coincidence that they were Marine noncommissioned officers.
In World War II, 27 Marines similarly used their bodies against thrown enemy grenades in order to save their comrades’ lives. Four of these Marines, including Bush, survived and were awarded the Medal of Honor.
What are the psychological mechanics of such heroism? No one orders heroism. After all, such heroism is why thanking American military veterans for their service is meaningful and appropriate on Veterans Day. We validate them and ourselves as citizens.
“Simply put, then, the key to heroism is a concern for other people in need – a concern to defend a moral cause, knowing there is a personal risk, done without expectation of reward,” Philip Zimbardo – a Stanford professor emeritus and author of “What Makes a Hero?” – once said in a magazine interview.
Authors Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals have studied heroism as a component of leadership for decades. In their “Our Definition of ‘Hero’ ” they write, “We’ve found that people’s beliefs about heroes tend to follow a systematic pattern. After polling a number of people, we discovered that heroes are perceived to be highly moral, highly competent or both.
“More specifically, heroes are believed to possess eight traits, which we call the Great Eight. These traits are smart, strong, resilient, selfless, caring, charismatic, reliable and inspiring. It’s unusual for a hero to possess all eight of these characteristics, but most heroes have a majority of them.”
If Americans who have won the Medal of Honor seem cut from a different bolt of tougher leather, it’s because they likely are. They care about others in a profound way.
When President Harry Truman awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to Fardy, the citation noted: “By his prompt decision and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death, had rendered valiant service, and his conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”
David Rutter, a veteran journalist and a former editor of the Waukegan News-Sun, Gary Post-Tribune and Herald-News in Joliet.