Sergeant Maurice Vincent Buckley was born in Hawthorn, Victoria in 1891. When the First World War started he, like many other Aussies signed up and went to war. Something few 23 year olds today could even fathom. Like many young men he was probably looking forward to a great adventure only to be shocked by the death and destruction he would witness.
On the 18th December 1918 Buckley was in France, at Le Verguier, near St Quentin. That day Sergeant Buckley performed deeds that few of us will ever be in a position to perform. He ceased to be a regular soldier and became something quite special.
During an advance his battalion cleared several enemy outposts whilst setting off behind a creeping barrage. Two of these outposts fell to Buckley’s own gun. When a field gun held up one company Buckley rushed forward, shot the crew and ran under fire of machine guns across open ground to put a trench mortar out of action. He then fired into an enemy dugout and captured 30 German soldiers. By the time the sun set that night Buckley had rushed at least 6 machine gun positions, captured a field gun and taken nearly 100 prisoners.
For this amazing day of achievement Buckley was awarded the Victoria Cross. For those that do not know the Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for Valour in the face of the enemy. Just fewer than 100 have ever been awarded to Australians. VC winners are in a class of their own. They are true heroes. I can’t imagine there is one person who could read the above paragraph regaling Sergeant Buckley’s ‘day at the office’ and say that these actions were not those of someone deserving of the term ‘hero.’ I in fact thought ‘wow!’ I may have even said it aloud and had to pause for a few seconds before starting to write about it. I imagine any descendants of Sergeant Buckley would be very proud indeed.
Though while we might all agree that Sergeant Buckley is a hero there has been some interesting conversation this week about who can truly be labelled a hero. A great favourite of mine is the site Mamamia (http://www.mamamia.com.au). It has some excellent writer’s sharing news and stories and is always a great read. Mia herself appears on the Sunrise program on a regular basis and this week happened to mention that she thought Cadel Evans should not be labelled a hero. This was the day after he won the Tour De France and the reaction was just crazy. She was attacked and abused from all sides for daring to pour water on Cadel’s achievement.
Now I am not going to add to this discussion. I think Mia has the right to her opinion and those that abuse others who do not share their opinion are the lowest of the low. But it got me to thinking. Does Mia have a point? Can any sportsmen be compared to the likes of Sergeant Buckley? Do we in this country put sportsmen above all others? Should kids be looking up to firemen and policemen like they used to. You know people who actually risk their lives for others? Or is the term in fact much broader? People are pointing out that Cadel’s achievement may make kids take up exercise or realise they too can live their dream, whatever that dream may be. Is this not when coupled with the enormous physical and mental effort required to win such a race also to be considered heroic?
I want to tell you a story about me. When I was a little girl I was as usual ahead of the rest of the class in reading and got to read a book that no one else in the class could. It was a book about Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, the great Australian aviator. It was of course edited for children and I did not find out till much later Smithy’s womaniser reputation or even the fact that he lost a few toes! But I was mesmerised nonetheless. I found his story fascinating. Imagine doing something like that? Flying around Australia and then the world and doing so in difficult conditions, always in fear something could go wrong. But insisting on doing it to achieve what no one else had ever achieved. I instantly had found my hero. I would tell anyone who asked who my hero was. I was quite thrilled to have discovered this man all by myself and that few others I knew had even heard of him or his great exploits.
Now there would be some people who might say Smithy was not a hero. He didn’t cure cancer or save lives. What he did was mostly for personal gain like a sportsman. So what if back then someone had sat me down and explained that while I could look up to Smithy I should not label him a hero. Then they would point and say, ‘See that man over there? He is a fire fighter and he saved two young children from a burning house yesterday, he is a hero.’ I think in fact I would have indeed admired the fire fighter but he would not have fired the passion within me that Smithy had. In fact I think I would have been very upset if someone had said something like that to me. Why couldn’t Smithy be my hero?
What is a hero then? Does it require a feat like Sergeant Buckley’s or can it be more narrowly applied? I think a trip to the dictionary is in order. Some definitions I have found for the word hero are;
“a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.”
“a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child. “
“a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability”
“an illustrious warrior”
“a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities”
“one who shows great courage”
It is pointed out on many sites as well that the word comes from the ancient Greek and the first heroes’ were warriors or even demi gods. The word has evolved of course but how much has it evolved? Brave deeds, noble qualities and achievements. These seem to be the basic tenets. We could look them up in the dictionary too and keep going till we get to the bottom of it! What is brave? Must one risk their lives to be brave?
Is every soldier brave? I imagine not. I think there are plenty of soldiers or policemen or fire fighters who are not brave at all and simply do their job. Perhaps there are some that might pass the buck and make someone else run into a burning building or into machine gun fire. Some nurses might not give two hoots about the patients they treat. Someone working on a cure for cancer might be doing so purely for the glory, to have their names go down in history.
Conversely it could be argued plenty of sportspeople are brave and even have noble qualities. Some may truly want to inspire others. Plenty of course wish only for the glory for themselves but if it happens to inspire people anyway? There is something to be said of course for living your passion, doing what you do best and love doing. If your passion is swimming then don’t become a fire fighter to save lives. Your heart will not be in it. Of course this does not mean you will be a hero but seldom is that something anyone sets out to do.
I’m not sure if I can answer the question of what should constitute a hero. I’m beginning to think it might be subjective. Even one of the definitions above implies that if some people think a person is a hero then they are a hero at least to those people. Adolf Hitler is seen as a hero by some. I think this is appalling but that does not change the fact that he is a hero to some people.
I think Ned Kelly should not be seen as a hero. I remember having a bit of a heated facebook chat with someone about it once. She insisted he was a hero. I think he is certainly an important historical figure and I do in fact have some sympathy for him but to see someone who resorted to terrorist tactics when the chips were down is wrong in my opinion and thus he should not be seen as a hero. Plenty would disagree with me.
So I am not going to say that Mia was right or wrong. She was right to think what she thinks and people who say Cadel is a hero are right to think what they think. But I have to talk about one other point. I think Mia is absolutely right when she says that there are many unsung heroes in this country that do not get a look in but should. Here she is talking about fire fighters and the like that risk their lives but are paid a pittance compared to sportspeople and who do not seek or gain any personal glory.
Something indeed needs to be done about this. I am happy for kids to have Cadel or other sportspeople as heroes so long as they also understand what regular people do to keep them safe and well. It is a shame that so many of us see being rich and famous as an achievement in itself. Few see working hard to bring in a wage as something worth doing even if you might save a life while you are at it.
There is a need for us to stop this cult of celebrity and start realising that people are just people and acting or singing and being well paid for it does not make these people god like. Sportspeople who perform amazing feats might be considered heroic but we must remember others as well. This is where the media really do need to get involved. We all want to read about the latest or what is happening in the celebrity world. I for one know I would love to read about the exploits of regular people. I do not mean having reality TV shows that turn everyday people into celebrities. This is something I fail to understand and is a subject in itself!
No what I mean is how about regular stories about fire fighters or nurses? Why can’t we pick up a magazine and read about the day in a life of someone who saves lives for a living? I’m sure there are plenty of tales to be told. I imagine some days are boring but some must be packed full of funny stories and stories to make you cry and gasp. Much more interesting then who Jenifer Anniston might be dating or even how much an English football player is being paid this year.
By all means give the likes of Cadel their day in the sun as his was an amazing achievement but let us not forget other things going on in the world. Let us remember the likes of Sergeant Buckley who made this country a safer place. Let’s tell our kids about the amazing things everyday people do. When we select our heroes let’s look honestly at why we choose them. What it is about this person that makes me see him or her as a hero? Are they brave? Noble? If you think so then fine. At the end of the day whoever you see as a hero is truly up to you.
People don’t choose to become heroes. Other people make them such by calling them that. Of course people are more likely to be called heroes if they are read about in a magazine or a book. I read a book about Smithy. People see sportspeople and their achievements all over the news. When do we see anything about people like Sergeant Buckley or brave fire fighters? Maybe a small snippet of news then it is gone forever. Let’s work on changing that.
I have been thinking about Smithy. Of course he did in fact serve his country and was awarded The Military Cross for gallantry in service. So I think by my standards he is still quite worthy of the hero status!
On a side note I feel obliged to let you all know that Sergeant Buckley did not live to a ripe old age. He died in 1922 from a horse riding accident. Imagine surviving the war only to die at home falling off a horse? It puts things in perspective doesn’t it?
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