By John Sexton, news lite editor
On Jan. 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in the head during a meeting at a Tucson area Safeway. Some early news outlets reported her dead.
But luckily for Giffords, she had a hero in the crowd.
An intern named Daniel Hernández rushed toward the sound of gunshots, and found Giffords with a gunshot wound to the head.
He held her head up, making sure she didn’t choke on her own blood, and applied pressure to the wound as he waited for help to arrive.
Hernández is a 21-year-old student at the University of Arizona.
He is, for the most part, a regular guy.
But for his heroic actions, he found himself speaking at a memorial for the victims of the shooting, despite the fact he denied himself a hero.
“Daniel, I’m sorry,” President Barack Obama said at the memorial. “You may deny it, but we have decided you are a hero, because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss and tended to her wounds and helped keep her alive.”
It was a heartwarming gesture by the President towards Hernández.
Hernández was honored and assisted by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer two days after the attack in front of the state legislature.
And finally, Hernández was invited to sit with Michelle Obama at the President’s second State of the Union address on Jan. 25.
He was honored during the speech on possibly the biggest stage in American television other than the Super Bowl.
Also joining Michelle Obama and Hernández at the State of the Union was Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, the first living person to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
He saved several members of his squad during the War in Afghanistan in 2007.
These two people did not have to do what they did. Hernández himself said, “It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots.”
But what he said next is the reason why: “But people needed help.”
Both Hernández and Giunta don’t consider themselves heroes.
While they don’t, we do.
In an interview with MSNBC commentator Laurence O’Donnell, Hernández expressed a desire to get back to work at his regular job.
When O’Donnell asked him what he thought about being the coolest intern in the building, Hernández waved it off, saying he’s just another guy doing what he loves.
The moral of the story is that anyone can be a hero.
Whether saving a congresswoman or breaking up a fight in the back parking lot, we all have a chance to help somebody.
We all need to step up and become heroes.
Remember, you don’t need a cape or X-ray vision to help someone.
All you need is courage and the will to put yourself in the line of fire to save someone in any way you can.
