HEROES

Those appointed to the ranks of heroes are usually ordinary people who, in a time of crisis and need, do extraordinary deeds to selflessly put the welfare of others ahead of their own comfort and safety. This week, Tidbits pays tribute to some of these brave and extraordinary people, both past and present.

• The distinction of being the nation’s youngest living soldier to receive the highest military award, the Medal of Honor, belongs to former Marine William Kyle Carpenter. The medal was awarded for his bravery during a 2010 tour in Afghanistan. Then 21 years old, Carpenter intentionally used his own body to shield a fellow Marine from a hand grenade lobbed at their location, saving the Marine’s life. Carpenter’s right arm was broken in more than 30 places, his jaw was shattered, he received shrapnel to his head, and he lost his right eye. After spending 2 ½ years in the hospital where his face was reconstructed, Carpenter was released, and enrolled in the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2017. He has also become a marathon runner.

• Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross) worked as a field hand and endured numerous beatings. After a daring escape, this African-American abolitionist returned to the South 19 times to lead dozens of slaves to freedom through the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Despite the reward on her head, which had swelled to $40,000, she managed to elude bounty hunters, never losing a single person. In addition to those activities, she also operated as a Civil War scout and a spy. Because she was paid only $200 over a three-year period, Harriet supported herself by selling baked goods and homemade root beer. Following the war, she opened the Home for Indigent and Aged Negroes in New York, funded by giving speeches and selling copies of her biography.