I am not sure what defines heroism. I think sometimes it is simply showing up. The firemen and policemen who went into the doomed buildings were not suicidal. They had a job that they were trained to do, and they showed up to do it. Their act of heroism was defined by their actions while they were alive, not by how they died. They were trained not to risk their life unnecessarily. They chose to take a risk that had the potential of doing a lot of good. They did not throw away their lives, they simply showed up and took a large, but necessary risk. And for that they are heros. It is a tragedy that the heros had to die, but they were heros well before they died.

Russ describes his actions as being trained for a job and simply showing up to do it. I think it would be too bad if the only way someone can earn full acknowledgement for his actions is if they end tragically. Often the biggest heros are those otherwise average people who see they have something to contribute and simply show up and contribute it. While he may feel that it is an honor bestowed on him to have the opportunity to help, he chose to prepare himself in such a way that when the opportunity presented itself he could show up and do it.

Simple words often are not sufficient for fully expressing a meaning. It has been said that the Eskimos had hundreds of words for snow to define the differences they understood. If what Russ did is not "heroic" in the same way as what the firemen and policemen did, it is just a deficiency of the language. While his actions may not have come down as thick and heavy as a February blizzard, when we woke in the morning the ground was still covered in glistening clean white because of his actions.

It is no small thing to simply show up. It is not that simple.

Thank you Russ.