Heroes

I heard a story the other day. I don't know if it was true, but I do know that it holds a lot of meaning.

Anyway, there was a army photographer tagged to a GI unit in Vietnam for 6 months. Everyday for 6 months he went out with this unit on patrol, and everyday this photographer took pictures. Eventually it came to the day before his 6 months were up and he and the unit went out on patrol - just like everyday. 

The platoon were picking their way through the jungle until suddenly, the LT pushed over the photographer to the ground. From the ground, the photographer saw that same LT get shot in the head. What also happened was something that happened by pure chance. Pure luck. As the photographer hit the ground, he hit the ground, the camera went off as a result of the jolt from the impact with the ground and snapped the exact moment that the lieutenant was shot.

For 25 years, this photographer didn't show anybody this picture and didn't tell anybody of this story. He was racked with guilt, thinking that that LT had died instead of him, that he thought it should have been him that was killed. But one day this photographer looked at this photo at realised that this wasn't a man dying because of him, instead of him - but a man saving his life. It was a person dying whilst saving another persons life. 

From that moment, the photographer showed this picture, and he told the story, and he made sure people knew of this hero. I think that this just goes to show, it doesn't matter what happens, there is always two ways you can look at something. It's just up to you to decide which.