FREE ESSAY ON AN AMERICAN HERO

AN AMERICAN HERO

The American Hero
War, defined in the dictionary as the fighting between nations or groups of people in a
nation. The term war to me means not hate and death, but history and pain. Looking back
into the past, the most influential war that ever took place in the world, was World War
II. When thinking about whom I should interview for my report, I could only think about
my interests in the war. So I found a man who had fought in the war for two years, and
had had many hardships there. My interview was of a man whom had flown in the 101st
airborne. His name is Walter Heatherly, a decorated hero of the past.
As I walked into Mr. Heatherly's house, the first sight that hits your eyes is a nazi
flag hanging on the wall. I was astounded to see an American have such a horrible object,
as the nazi flag, even in their house. Mr. Heatherly saw my look of astonishment and
laughed. He explained to me that the nazi flag on his wall was one, which his platoon had
taken during the war. Upon closer examination I saw that around the edge of the flag were
hundreds of American signatures. Mr. Heatherly told me he kept this on the wall for two
reasons, one for pride, and the other for the mourning of his lost comrades. The feeling
of pride he said came from the winning of the war, and the knowledge that you were the
big dog in the world. The mourning aspect was in remembrance of his lost friends and
soldiers. Upon entering the house and seeing the nazi flag, and learning of its purpose,
I knew my choice for the interview was a good one. 
After my encounter with the flag, Mr. Heatherly and I sat down to begin the interview. We
started with his early days in the war. Mr. Heatherly was involved with what is called
the 101st airborne. These were the men whom were the first to go into battle. Mr.
Heatherly remembers having one hundred pounds of gear strapped to him at one time. At the
start of his career in the war, he was a reserve jumper. He was the reserve for a
paratrooper on D-day who unfortunately died. With the death of this man it was Mr.
Heatherly's turn to do the fighting. Mr. Heatherly said that upon receiving this letter,
he felt as if his life had ended. His heart had turned to pieces, and his body was full
of fright. The letter said he was to jump somewhere in Holland. The Americans were making
an attempt to liberate the country and take a stronghold away from Germany. The evening
of the jump came and Mr. Heatherly said he felt like running away. He told me that even
though he wanted to go home, he said he had a feeling inside that everything was going to
be all right in the end. He said the airplane flight was long and slow. It took what
seemed like five hours he said, when it was only fourty-five minutes. Once over Holland
Mr. Heatherly said he could here loud explosions going off in the air. As he stepped to
the edge to jump, he felt a great push on his back. In the air he turned to see who was
next, but what he saw he would remember the rest of his life. Mr. Heatherly turned only
to see that his plane had been shot and blown to pieces by a bomb. The man who had pushed
him saved his life! At this point I looked into his eyes, and tears were starting to
form. I could see in his eyes that he felt he had a non-payable debt to society, and
whoever had pushed him off that plane would be in his heart forever. This was a
heartbreaking moment in his life, he said.
We stopped the interview for about fifteen minutes to get a drink, because I could tell
the emotional stress of the past was very overwhelming for Mr. Heatherly. Upon restarting
the interview Mr. Heatherly told me something that I could never understand, but will
always remember in the back of my mind. He said that once his feet hit the ground that
evening in the Holland soil, he said his two years of living in hell had begun. When Mr.
Heatherly hit the ground de said he looked around for his entire platoon. No one was to
be found, and he was in enemy territory all by himself. He said there wasn't an actual
feeling to describe the fright and confusion, which was turning in his mind. He said he
felt like a needle in a haystack. For the next few days Mr. Heatherly walked around
Holland looking for any sign of Americans. He came to a village outside of Amsterdam,
where he hoped to find food and some shelter. Mr. Heatherly was walking down a cobble
road in the middle of the village, when all of the sudden gun shots ran out and the door
behind him was full of bullet holes. Mr. Heatherly said at that point he as if felt he
was in god's hands. The gunshots had come from a building on the other side o the street.
Mr. Heatherly readied his gun. He ran across the street shooting in the windows of the
shack trying to save his life. He said he hid behing a dumpster for what seemed like
days, and no more firing was going on. He said he leaned out to look at the building, and
he saw American soldiers standing around the house. He said he felt as if a rock had been
lifted off his chest, and ran to greet the soldiers. Once he came upon them, he said he
saw a sight, which still troubles him today. In the house were two dead Germans who had
both been shot Nine or ten times. He then realized what had happened, and what he had
done. The shack was made of stone, and when Mr. Heatherly had shot into the windows, his
bullets had ricochet numerous times, hitting the men over and over. He said he felt as if
he had betrayed himself. He thought about the 
men and their families, and what hell he must have caused them. He said at this point he
felt like running away, but in the back of his mind he knew there was no escape from the
hellish place he had been put. For the next few days Mr. Heatherly said all he could do
was sit b himself and think of what he had done. He then told me that this incident was
nothing compared to what was to come. This made feel a great sense of sorrow for the
children who were put into the situation that Mr. Heatherly was in.
Mr. Heatherly said for the next few weeks the platoon stayed in the town and protected a
bridge, until the country had been liberated. Once their job in Holland was done, the men
got a two-week break. Mr. Heatherly decided to go to Paris. With all of the time spent in
Paris, Mr. Heathery said he felt like a normal human being again. He never had to worry
about whom was going to kill him, or who he would have to kill. After the break Mr.
Heatherly said, "It was time to go back to hell, and there was no way of getting out of
it." Mr. Heathery and his platoon were sent to a small village in Belgium called
Bastogne. Mr. Heatherly asked me if I had ever seen the movie Saving Private Ryan. I said
"yes," and he asked me if I remembered the battle scene at the end of the movie. He said
that Bastogne was the battle at the end of the movie, and he had been in it. 
Mr. Heatherly said he and his platoon had been in the village for about two weeks, when
the outside strongholds of the town had fallen into German hands. The platoon of fifty
men were in a village totally surrounded by Germans. Mr. Heathery said that he had no
food, and the ammunition was almost out. On July 1,1944, the Germans attacked the village
of Bastogne. Mr. Heatherly said that a feeling of death and defeat were running through
his veins. The Germans attacked with strong force, using tanks and panzer guns. Mr.
Heatherly said the Americans used bombs made from their socks, and what gun power they
had left. At one point Mr. Heatherly and his best friend were in a foxhole, when the
Germans discovered where they were. The next event would be one where the smell and taste
are still with Mr. Heatherly today. His friend stood up to throw a bomb at the tank, when
Mr. Heatherly heard a loud explosion, and then a wetness all over his body. He looked
down to see that all of his clothes were red, and only half of his friend was in the
foxhole. Mr. Heatherly said a newfound hatred for the world entered his mind. He ran out
of the foxhole, and blew the tank up by himself. He said the battle lasted about six
hours, and the Americans with their will to live beat the Germans and held the town. This
day of fighting was too much for Mr. Heatherly, and he felt it was time to go home. 
After the battle Mr. Heatherly was allowed to go home due to an injury to his hip. He
said he had no idea what he was going to do with his life at that point, he had seen and
learned so much. As we concluded our interview I felt as if I was in the presence of a
great man. He fought for his country, saved the world from a horrible end, and came back
to America and lived his life to the fullest. I figured that there was only one
definition for a man like that. Through my interview with Mr. Heatherly, I learned the
true definition of an American hero.