Hero: Nancy Wake

By | August 30, 2016

[August 30, 2016]  For a vibrant, open society to have heroes is necessary like a living animal having blood that flows through its veins.  A hero helps us define the limits of our aspirations in life and so it is with Nancy Wake, the Allies’ most decorated servicewoman of World War II.  Her story is one of daring,… Read More »

Hero: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By | April 8, 2016

[April 8, 2016]  It was once said that “evil prospers when good men do nothing.”  So it was with Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer; recognized for being someone who we can all look up to for courage in the face of certain death.  Today, I’m recognizing Bonhoeffer as a hero to all free peoples and holding him up as someone… Read More »

Opinion: When Firefighters are Heroes

By | February 17, 2016

[February 17, 2016]  After 9/11 when terrorists struck the United States homeland, there were many people who emerged as heroes.  Among them were firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, and yes even ordinary people who were all involved to save people and engaged in the dangerous cleanup effort in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania.1 In… Read More »

Hero: Roy P. Benavidez

By | December 31, 2015

[December 31, 2015]  I thought it most appropriate to end the year with a special shout-out to all the heroes who have made the United States such a great nation.  Serving in the Vietnam War, Roy P. Benavidez was not just any hero; he was a tough and courageous soldier.  Although he didn’t like to be called a… Read More »

Hero: Zofia Kossak

By | December 3, 2015

[December 3, 2015]  About once a month or so I highlight a “hero” who showed an unusually high degree of physical or moral courage.  It’s rare to find those who display both and why I’m pointing out the case of Zofia Kossak (later Kossak-Szczucka).  Although there are many who were killed and their names will never be known,… Read More »

Hero: Alonzo Cushing

By | November 4, 2015

[November 4, 2015]  Although I occasionally highlight a real hero in this leadership blog, it’s important to remind readers that while the majority of the heroes are produced as a result of many acts of physical courage, it is moral courage that is most difficult.  In the case of our hero featured today, Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, he possessed… Read More »

Hero: Edith Cavell

By | September 19, 2015

[August 19, 2015]  Occasionally I write about a real hero here at theLeaderMaker.com in order to show those key characteristics they possessed that helped make them who they were; usually in time of war.  Today is no different but it involves a civilian nurse whose execution by firing squad outraged the world during World War One.  Edith Cavell… Read More »

Hero: David Lee “Tex” Hill

By | August 18, 2015

[August 18, 2015]  Many boys from my generation grew up building model airplanes; one of the most popular being the P-40E Curtiss Warhawk painted in a green and tan camouflage pattern with the famous “shark mouth” nose art and Chinese Air Force insignia on its wings.  David Lee “Tex” Hill, flew one of these P-40Es and was one… Read More »

Hero: Eddie Rickenbacker

By | June 18, 2015

[June 18, 2015] Growing up as a kid with so many Korean and World War II veterans around me, it was odd that the American hero I admired the most was Captain Eddie Rickenbacker the World War I ace. Rickenbacker was much more, however, than being the most productive fighter during WWI with 26 aerial victories. His deeds… Read More »

Hero: Virginia Hall

By | April 26, 2015

[April 26, 2015] When we think of heroes from World War II, we immediately think of the Allied military men who risked their lives and endured great hardships to do something spectacular. Virginia Hall was a civilian working for both the British and American clandestine services; she was known to the Nazi Gestapo as “the woman with a… Read More »