Why Do Heroes Leave Legacies

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Benjamin Disraeli, a British Prime Minister and Novelist, stated that, “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.” Heroes can leave inspiring examples that influence others in the future. These examples are their legacies. Heroes leave long-lasting legacies by setting influential examples during their life, they are persistent in what they are trying to achieve, and they are not selfish, but very sacrificing.
Heroes leave legacies that influence others in the future. One person that demonstrates this is the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln fought for equality for all and didn’t give up on his belief. In the White House Funeral Sermon for Abraham Lincoln by Dr. Phineas Gurley, …show more content…

Throughout history, many heroes have risen with this personality trait. One of them is Louis Zamperini, who was a lieutenant in the US Army Air Forces and a participator in the 1936 Olympics. While on a search and rescue mission, the plane he was flying in had mechanical difficulties and they crashed. Out of the 3 survivors of the crash, Zamperini was one of them. They spent 46 days adrift in the ocean and then were finally captured by the Japanese He spent the rest of the war being severely beaten, mistreated and forced to do harsh labor until the end of the war when he was finally allowed to go home in 1945. This shows that Louis Zamperini demonstrated persistence for never giving up for 2 years filled with cruel and horrible conditions. A second hero who showed great persistence was Jackie Robinson, the first black player ever to join Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson faced a lot of discrimination because of his color, they called him horrible names and mistreated him. However, Robinson choose not to fight back and kept doing what he loved, which inspired has inspired many people back then, and today. This shows that Jackie Robinson was persistent because he kept playing baseball, even if others were discriminating him. Heroes must be persistent when they are trying to achieve something because there’s always someone or something that is holding them …show more content…

On September 11th, 2001, terror struck the nation as two commercial airliners struck the Twin Towers in New York City. One of the heroes that came out of this tragic event was Welles Crowther, commonly known as, “The Man in the Red Bandana.” When one of the planes hit the tower, Welles led by helping people down the tower. However, he didn’t stop there. He went back up again with a group of firefighters to help more people. Sadly, the group of men didn’t make it, their bodies were discovered heading up the stairwell. Welles is a perfect example of a hero that is not selfish, because he could have easily left the tower and saved himself, but instead he stayed behind and helped others. He gave up his life in the process of this heroic deed. However, Welles wasn’t the only one who wasn’t selfish, two former Marines rushed to the scene to help. One of these men was Jason Thomas, who was dropping off his daughter at Long Island at the time. The second man, Dave Karnes, was working at his job in Connecticut. Karnes was watching the attack on the TV and decided to help, he put on his uniform and rushed to New York City. Thomas and Karnes began searching for any survivors. They found two officers who were trapped in the debris and got help. After officers were rescued, the two former marines left, but stayed on the sight for a few days to continue helping. Just like Welles, these two men could have simply stayed where they were

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