At the end of the Combat! episode "The Medal", Saunders asks a very important question: "What makes heroes, Lieutenant?" (the title of this post). Lieutenant Hanley's answer, I'm sure, is meant to get the audience thinking: "You tell me, Sergeant."

Now I'm sure Hanley realizes he's talking to a living embodiment of heroism at the moment - because Saunders is a great example of a hero - but let's back up for a minute. What, exactly, does make heroes? It's something I've considered many times before in my writing, and I think in this age of the morally-gray soggy biscuits we have for characters, it's important that we know what to look for when searching for someone we can actually admire. (I could go off on a rant about how we need more real heroes in fiction, but that's another topic for another time.) So, let's take a look at what makes a hero - and yes, likely I'll be using Saunders for some of my examples. 😉

Important Elements

#1 Self-sacrificing. This is the #1 Most Important, defining characteristic of a hero. He (or she) is willing to give up his desires, put himself in danger, even give his life for the sake of others. (Or, sometimes, for the sake of an idea - see #4, under "Other Considerations" below.)

Combat! example: In "The Bridge at Chalons", Saunders has been going head-to-head with the cranky Sgt Turk throughout the whole episode. When Turk is hurt at the end, he tells Saunders to go back to their lines and leave him. But Saunders won't take that; he risks his life to complete the mission for Turk and then drags him all the way back to headquarters.

Now, someone who shows self-sacrifice in a more domestic, day-to-day context shows just as much heroism as someone who risks their life in war. Take, for example, Miss Celia in Under the Lilacs. I'm sure she would love to be reading or pursuing some other activity, taking time for herself, but she puts her desires aside to entertain and instruct the little girls who live next door (and the other kids too). Even when she's resting with a broken arm, she still takes time to listen to their talk and organize an archery contest for them. Miss Celia is one of my (very few) fictional heroines, and I really admire her. 😊

#2 Courage. Keep in mind, courage doesn't mean the absence of fear; it means going on in spite of the fear. Someone may be terrified of an obstacle in the way - whether physical or perceived - but if they press on in spite of their fear, that's heroism.

Combat! example: In "Bridgehead", the squad is trying to take a bridge, but they're pinned down by fire from the Germans in a house next to the bridge. Saunders orders Billy and another soldier (Johnson, I think? He wasn't a regular squad member) to take a small building on the flank, so that they can get fire on the enemy from two angles. There are a few Germans in the building, but the two soldiers are able to take the position without losses. It's Johnson's first exposure to war, and for most of the episode he sits shell-shocked in the corner. Billy is scared - after all, there's a scary machine gun and a Panzerfaust in the big building by the bridge - but in spite of it he keeps going, following the orders he was given.

#3 Mercy. I'll be honest here - if a "hero", no matter what other awesome stuff they've done, doesn't have mercy, I will lose all (or at least a great deal) of my respect for them. A character can risk their life, overcome their fears, and do awesome things, but they MUST be merciful to their enemies if they want to be considered a hero in my book.

Combat! example: 🚨 SPOILER ALERT!!! 🚨 In "Forgotten Front", part of the squad is holed up in an old mill, trying to find the location of an enemy gun. They find a German deserter also hiding in the mill, and hold him prisoner. When they're ready to leave, there's a German tank outside that's covering their escape route. Saunders, realizing their position, tells the men that they have to leave their prisoner behind. While Saunders is keeping an eye on the tank, the others sneak out of the mill via the drain into the stream. Caje is the last one to go, and he doesn't think it's a good idea to leave the German, because he might go back to the enemy and snitch on them. So, while Saunders is guarding the entrance outside, Caje picks up his rifle and shoots . . . but not the German. He can't bring himself to shoot an unarmed prisoner. (I know, there's the Geneva Convention and all that; but Caje wasn't thinking about the Geneva Convention at that moment. He told Saunders later that he just couldn't shoot the German, it wouldn't have been right. That's the sort of tough moral questions that the characters in Combat! wrestle with, and that's one of the reasons I really like the show - it often makes you think.)

Other Considerations

#4 A hero stands for something. Now, this isn't always an element of heroism, but I think it often adds to a hero's hero-ness. If a hero has an ideal or a belief that they stand for no matter the consequences - especially if that belief is founded on God's Word - that makes them even more admirable.

Combat! example: In "The Walking Wounded", Saunders finds himself in an ambulance with the driver, a doctor, a nurse, and a wounded man who's likely going to die. The driver and the doctor both think the wounded man doesn't have a chance, but Saunders insists that they try to get him to the proper medical care, come hell or high water (or German artillery barrages). He argues that if it was him lying wounded to the point of death, he wouldn't want to be abandoned by them, given up as a lost case. Saunders' pep talks are epic in this episode - he tells the doctor to stop playing God and giving up on the cases he thinks he can't save; he tells the wishy-washy ambulance driver that if he doesn't stop running and make a stand, he'll be fighting a war with himself long after this war is over; and he convinces them all that they have to at least try to save the wounded man. He even has the time to rescue a cute puppy along the way. 🙂 One of my favorite Saunders quotes is from this episode (and yes, it's on my motivation wall):

It's a funny thing, though; once you make up your mind to stand your ground, just once, you'll be surprised how easy it is after that.

#5 A hero doesn't always succeed! Generally, the people or characters we remember as heroes are the ones who accomplished great things, whether they lived to tell about it or died in the final, epic act. (Combat! has a lot of endings like that, where the obnoxious guest star does something to redeem himself in the last 5 minutes and dies at the very end.) But just because someone doesn't succeed in their attempt, that doesn't mean they're not a hero.

Divisione Folgore example: 🚨 SPOILER ALERT!!! 🚨 If you read my previous post, you know that the young paratrooper Delavigne dies in the first night patrol. While attempting to grenade a British machine-gun nest, he's shot down by one of the Bren guns. Now, Saunders has a mean grenade arm and almost always succeeds in grenading the machine guns threatening his men. While Delavigne failed where Saunders succeeds, that doesn't diminish Delavigne's heroism. The important thing is that he tried. Whether a character succeeds or not, the fact that they try is enough in my mind to give them hero status.

There's your answer, Lieutenant - at least, as far as I see it. Obviously this is in more of a wartime/danger context, but if we chose to look around us, I'm sure we would see plenty of everyday heroes - less noticeable than soldiers, firemen, or policeman, but heroes nonetheless for their quiet, self-sacrificing service. Doubtless there are some of those "domestic heroes" in your life - maybe a parent or a teacher, or somebody you work with.

What do y'all think? Do you have any examples of heroism that you'd like to share, or attributes that you think I missed? Shout it out in the comments below! And thanks for taking the time to listen to the ramblings of my little brain. 😉