What's The Most Heroic Thing Your Dad Ever Did?

[rrausch]

I was thinking about my Pop today. He died 39 years ago when I was a youngster. He was a darn good farmer and a darn good guy. A story all my Aunts and Uncles liked to tell about him was that one day back in the early 1940's he had come into town, to the Farmer's Exchange, which was down by the Frisco tracks, and happened to see our little town's dog catcher, who was a volunteer dog catcher, dealing with 3 stray dogs.



The dog catcher had tied them all together, down near the RR tracks. He'd doused them with kerosene and was getting ready to set them on fire. The dogs were carrying on quite a bit, but nobody wanted to "get involved". So Pop went over and asked the guy what in the world he was doing. Dog Catcher didn't like my Pop's attitude and told him to get lost and mind his own bidness. According to my Aunts & Uncles the guy pulled out a Zippo and started cranking it. Pop kicked the guy's hand and "an altercation" ensued, and whatever Pop did or whatever he said to the guy, that guy never again did volunteer dog catching in our town.



But that was before I was born. So I guess, the most heroic thing he ever did that I saw was he stopped drinking when I was 10 years old.

 

[wcaldwell]

Way back in '50, my dad (died in '98) married my mom (died in '89) and adopted her daughter, my older sister. He worked all his life trying to provide for his 7 kids. That's a hero. He had his problems and did some things that he shouldn't have, but all in all... .....

 

[yogibear]

Raised my brother and I, and believe me that was HEROIC!!!

Larry

 

[RHARVEY]

Taking a stand for what he believes in and not backing down!



Rick

 

[rkressg]

Served his country for over 20 years

 

[Doc Tinker]

The house that I grew up in had a patio that was one floor above ground level. Beside the patio the ground sloped away from the house.



One day my sister was mowing the lawn, with the garden tractor, and attempted to mow the sloped area next to the patio. We usually used a push mower on the slope, but a lot of times I would do it with the tractor to save time and I guess my sister decided to do that too.



You guessed it, Sis rolled the tractor and she didn't get out from under it in time and got pinned.



I don't know if Dad heard Sis yelling for help, but I was told that the mower was still running, tires and blades spinning, when Dad raced out of the house and vaulted over the patio railing, flew thru the air and yanked the tractor off of Sis, all in one fluid motion. The tractor probably weighed more than 500 pounds.



Sis says it was like Superman coming to the rescue.



Doc

 

[Deezul1]

I think raising kids will put most of them on the list, what a challenge.

 

[Bud Fox]

VIETNAM

 

[TPCDrafting]

Me too, Dad spent two tours in Vietnam in the marines. Has three purple hearts.



As a dad, I'd have to say he was always there for me and my brother. A lot of times he'd be the only parent there at the games. I thought I was cool cause I'd ride home with him instead of the school bus.

 

[CJ Johansson]

Got shot up in the DMZ, Korea, while on "routine" partol during a cease-fire. He remains p!ssed off to this day that he had to write home to the parents of the boys who died and was forced to tell them their kids died in a jeep accident.

Ain't political wars great...



-cj

 

[Bud Fox]

No, you know whats great, coming home to a country that doesnt even apreciate what you did. I dont want to start anything just aggravates me what some people did in that era and to see my dad have nightmares etc for years after

 

[Briar Hopper]

The most heroic thing my dad ever did? I think it would have to be the way he lived with the pain of multiple heart attacks, over a 13 year period, without ever once, not even once, complaining. My mother and I never, ever heard him bemoan his lot in life. Despite losing his health, and having had his own brother screw him over after taking him in as a partner in his trucking company, which ultimately resulted in the loss of the entire company, my dad was not a bitter man. He always had a smile on his face for me, and for others. He was so busy reaching out to help others in spite of the pain, the memories of him and his actions left a profound impression on me and many others.

He departed this world when I was a senior in high school. Sad to say, I did not handle the loss with the maturity he would have expected from me. I think he would have understood though. I hope I've hammered into my own son's head that he's not to let my death affect him so severely that he makes bad decisions... .

 

[Jumbo Jet]

Survived 3-1/2 years as a POW of the Japanese.



Was captured on Corregidor May 1942.



Never was a mean man, but surely was a firm Ex-Marine.



Taught me right from wrong, how to work, and the true meaning of respect!



I sure wish he could have taught some of our current politicians a thing or two!!

 

[paccool]

My dad has always been a hero to me. Love him very much. He is 78 years old, still going pretty good. The one thing that sticks in my head was when I was about 8 years old. There was a bad flood going on in northern Calif. The Sheriff came knocking on the door one evening and asked my Dad if he would be willing to attempt a rescue of a trucker that was stranded in the rising water. (Sheriff knew Pop had a boat) The trucker was on top of the truck about 3/8 of a mile from where the boat could be launched. He went out and got him and even got his picture in the local paper. I thought that was pretty cool.



Am taking him fishing in July- going to Alaska for Salmon and Halibut.



Stan

 

[Doc Tinker]

When I was eight, Santa gave me a pair of work boots. Dad helped me put them on, laced them up and then invited me to give him a kick



Doc

 

[LSMITH]

My dad has done many things that could be considered heroic. 15+ years in law enforcement, pilot for 35+ years, and on and on. What makes my dad MY hero is one simple quality, integrity. My dad taught me that intergrity is doing the right thing even if no one will ever know that you did or did not, when no one is looking. My dad has done the right thing every time on time without hesitation and regardless of the consequences. If I die half the man he has been over his life I would have been a good man.

 

[JWhitcomb]

My Dad was a chemical engineer and in charge of a portion of a DuPont plant making munitions during WW2. He had a job that was vital to the war effort, a wife and child, and poor eye sight. One day he came home and told Mom that he had volunteered for the army. He went thru basic and turned down OCS. He went to England as a ground pounder supplied with four extra pair of glasses. He went ashore on D Day and survived the hell of Omaha Beach. A week later in the hedge rows of Normandy he was killed. I never knew him but I sure wish I did.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Howard (LSMITH), it sounds like our dad's were a lot alike. I couldn't have said it better myself. I'd also add that my dad always stuck to his principles and did what was right even if it wasn't popular with others.



I lost my dad in 1994. I think of him often and miss him a lot. I think it's up to us to be the kind of dads to our kids that our dads were to us.

 

[ftb87]

You know my dad and I didn't get along to well growing up... we just see the world in a different way.



But one time when I was 6 yrs. old. My brother, two sister and I were ice skating at the park (one block away from home, at night and it was very cold) and some boys were trying to beat my older sister up. Well, my dad hear about this and before I knew it he was throwing several boys away from my sister and then walked us home. But the thing about it was... . he was only in his socks and t-shirt and saved my older sister.



Frank

 

[rrausch]

My Pop married late in life, and farmed with horses until 1952, when I was about 5 years old. A couple of summers ago I was down in the woods on our place and I found an old 1-horse cultivator he had used to cultivate corn. He probably used it for the better part of 20 years. I know he didn't grow corn every year, but the years he did, he cultivated it with that 1-horse cultivator. I pulled the rusty old clevis pin out of it, it was a pretty small clevis pin, about 1/2" in diameter and about 2" long. The clevis pin has a notch in the middle of it; it is almost worn through there, from taking up the slack every time the horse jerked the cultivator along. I look at that thing and I am ashamed. I mean I complain because I can ONLY afford to take 3 weeks off this summer for a vacation. I complain because the paint peeled on top of my Dodge/Cummins and I had to get it re-painted. I complain because I ONLY get 250 h. p. out of my truck. I complain because guys talk bad about my K&N air filter.



My Pop never once complained. He just worked. He didn't say anything about all the work he did, regardless of whether it was too hot or too cold or too early or too late.

God Bless my Pop.