The Hero Code

The Hero Code identifies the traits of real-life heroes through inspiring stories of bravery and determination, many taken directly from the author’s experience as a four-star Navy admiral.

When Admiral McRaven heard of the losses of three soldiers in Afghanistan one night, the news hit extra hard: He was responsible for one of them being there. Her name was Lieutenant Ashley White.

A few years earlier, McRaven had discovered a gap in their Afghanistan strategy. The local women often had important information about the Taliban, but they weren’t comfortable speaking to male soldiers — the vast majority of US forces. Therefore, McRaven established the female Cultural Support Teams, whose job it was to gather this information.

One of his first recruits? Lieutenant White, who had endured her intense training with stride. When she was deployed, her bravery never wavered. She valiantly did her difficult job every day, not knowing whether or not she’d make it home.

Another quality of a hero is that they are willing to sacrifice themself. In the Vietnam War, a small US reconnaissance team arrived in the Quan Duc Valley of Vietnam. The people there didn’t want it occupied by enemy forces and started a last-ditch effort to fight back. They quickly began a brutal assault against the soldiers.

During this assault, a grenade landed near Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson, a young Black Marine. Without even hesitating, Johnson quickly threw himself on top of it, absorbing the blast and protecting his fellow Marines from the full force of the explosion. The Marines were stunned by this act of sacrifice and held strong until reinforcements came.

For this selfless sacrifice, Johnson was posthumously given the Medal of Honor. His act spoke louder than words — and it also argued for the dignity of every US citizen, no matter the color of their skin.

Young James Patrick Allison lost his mother to cancer when he was only 11. Not long after, he also lost two uncles to cancer. Instead of brooding over the loss, he decided he wanted to do something about it — he was going to cure cancer. At the University of Texas, he studied T-cells. These are a cell in the human body that attack infections and aid the immune system. He believed they could have some role in fighting cancer. He was right. After years of researching, he finally developed a drug that was able to help T-cells kill cancer in mice. Still, drug companies didn’t want anything to do with his new drug. They had already spent millions on failed cancer treatments. Most of us would likely get discouraged by this. Allison, however, persevered and continued to advocate for it, and…