Hideaki Akaiwa

Hideaki Akaiwa: A Hero in the Midst

Hideaki Akaiwa was a hero in the moment. He did many heroic things in the moment, without regard to his own safety. He did this heroic deed in the midst of the tsunami that raged over Japan. His family was in danger and he not only saved them, but other people as well. Hideaki Akaiwa was a great hero because he voluntarily went into danger to save his family and neighbors from danger.

He had to swim through so much danger (Google Images ())

Hideaki Akaiwa was at work one day when the tsunami hit. He himself was safe from harm, but the same could not be said for his family. They were stuck in the tsunami. "Many people would, at this point, collapse into a sobbing mass, knowing they had lost someone forever. Again, not Hideaki Akaiwa"(Forbes). He heard about the epidemic and his first reaction was not "I need to get further away from the danger!" No, his first thought was "I must save my family." He thought of others' safety before his own, which makes him a selfless hero as well. His selflessness is an inspiration to think of others before you think of yourself. He is an inspiration to me and many others.

The water was this high! (Seavenger.com ())

Hideaki Akaiwa's first goal was to save his wife of twenty years. He rushed to the scene of the disaster, and looked on at the devastation in front of him. "Unable to wait for relief workers to arrive, Akaiwa quickly threw on his scuba gear and prepared for a swim he would likely never forget"(Huffington post). He looked around at relief shelters and high ground, but he couldn't find her. He went back and looked in his house, where he found her. "The water felt very cold, dark, and scary. I had to swim about two-hundred yards to her, which was quite difficult with all the floating debris."(Hideaki Akaiwa).

Akaiwa not only saved his wife of twenty years from the aftermath of the tsunami, he also saved his mom. After he saved his wife, he went to find his mother. He looked in relief shelters and high ground as he did with his wife, but to no avail. He couldn't find her in any of those places, so he went back to her house. "Surrounded by incredible hazards on all sides ranging from obscene currents capable of dislodging houses from their moorings, sharp twisted metal that could easily puncture his oxygen line, or impale him, and with giant (...) cars careening through the water like toys, he pressed on"(Badass of the Month). He found her there, and saved her. She had been stuck in her house like that for four days. After he saved his mother, he had an interview with a reporter. He left in the middle of the interview however. "My supplies, I have to go back and keep looking"(Hideaki Akaiwa).

In conclusion, Hideaki Akaiwa was a hero who faced perilous odds to save the ones he loved. Not only did he save his family, but he saved strangers as well. Akaiwa is an inspiration to be all you can be. When the moment comes that you need to be a hero, you shouldn't be afraid to. It took Hideaki Akaiwa quite a bit of strength to muster up the courage to go out and save his family, and strangers. Many people would save their family but what strikes me is that he went back and searched for other people as well. Hideaki Akaiwa is a hero because he voluntarily went into danger instead of staying safe and sound away from it, he saved his family from certain death, and he went back to save other people he didn't even know as well. That is what I call a hero in the moment.