There are those who view the word “hero” as someone who does the right thing no matter what. They selflessly put their lives on the line. Some heroes fight for the rights of children. Others offer free medical services to those who can’t afford it. Many heroes have one thing in common: they did what they did, not for recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. Here are 25 Real Stories of Everyday Heroes. Pilecki volunteered to be imprisoned at the camp so he could escape and inform the allies. Although he did escape eventually, he was executed by Stalin for foreign imperialism. The two teens chased the car thief down and the children were saved. The three men, sometimes called the Suicide Squad, kept the power plant from melting down by opening sluice gates beneath the power plant and potentially saving millions of lives. These three heroes survived the harrowing experience. Johar was shot in the spine and told he would never walk again. He used his time to create the newspaper, which brings awareness about people who struggle with disabilities. The cries were from a female student at Central Michigan University. She had been sexually assaulted and managed to escape. Persyn let the woman in. Her attacker found out where she was and lit the house on fire. Luckily, the boy’s father arrived home in time to put out the fire. After watching his father become ill, and realizing not enough doctors were available, Bwelle realized he had to do something. Bwelle along with other volunteers have helped over 30,000 people receive health care. He is responsible for helping create The Knapp Commission in 1970, which battles corruption in the police force. He was portrayed by Al Pacino in the film Serpico. One night, a missile alarm went off, signaling that the U.S. had fired. However, Petrov knew that the alarms were in the early stages and told his commanders he believed that alarm to be inaccurate. He turned out to be right and successfully diverted nuclear catastrophe. Rusesabagina was an assistant manager of the hotel at the time. Don Cheadle portrayed Rusesabagina in the movie Hotel Rwanda. Harrison has a very rare blood type able to produce antibodies that can cure babies who are born with rare rhesus disease. He has saved many lives simply by offering compassion and a listening ear. One day, a gunman named Amedy Coulibaly entered the market and began killing customers who were Jewish. Bathily gathered the survivors he could find and hid them in the freezer until help arrived. The plane they were flying in had engine failure and began to free fall. Cooke calmly gave the woman instructions and acted as a human shield, taking the brunt of the force during impact. Miraculously, the woman survived in spite of suffering injuries. Cooke and several others did not survive the crash. Carpenter lost the majority of his teeth, his right eye, and suffered many broken bones. Thankfully, he is still alive and is the youngest living person to receive the Medal of Honor. She founded the organization after her young daughter was killed by a repeat drunk driving offender. According to their reports, they have saved over 300,000 lives. One thing it inspired was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregated seating during which African-Americans refused to ride the bus. The protest lasted over a year. Rosa Parks is often considered the mother of the civil rights movement. After the terrorist attack on 9/11, Buscemi volunteered with his old unit to search for survivors. These wishes might include a Christmas tree, games, or toys for kids who have very little. Nares helps young patients get to their chemo appointments by offering free transportation. Beatty helped thousands of veterans to find adequate housing and healthcare when they returned home from the war. Beatty passed away at 39 years of age, but in spite of his short lifespan, he made a lasting difference. At first, he was unable to force the animal to let go of the boy but he refused to give up. He ended up scaring the animal off, thus saving the young boy’s life. Cohen was so effective as a spy that he managed to get close to high-ranking officials. Sadly, he was discovered in 1965 and executed in Syria on national television. The Green Revolution has helped increase agricultural production across the world. Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his lasting contributions to the world’s food supplies. The cancer cells were multiplying at an alarming rate and, sadly, Lacks died before she could get treatment. After her death, however, the doctors sent her blood to many professionals including Jonas Salk. Using Lacks’ blood, Salk created the polio vaccine, which has saved many lives. Not wanting them to fail or quit school because of these stresses, he donates 80% of his salary to help these students. This way, they have less to worry about and can focus on their school work. He was recently recognized as the world’s best teacher and given 1,000,000 dollars. (Our guess is that he put much of it straight back into helping others.)
