Wade Henry

What is a hero? To me, a hero is someone that is courageous and noble, someone that battles adversity, and someone that helps others. Some other words that come to mind when describing a hero are as follows: responsible, perseverance, caring, self-disciplined, citizenship, and honesty. A hero lives by high standards, and one of my best friends fits the mold of a hero perfectly.

EMT Logo

Wade Henry is a hero of mine because of several different reasons. This man is a childhood friend of mine who battled adversity to become someone that anyone can look up to. Wade has served with the local volunteer fire department, he is an EMT, and he is now a member of the United States Navy. Wade has fought fires, saved lives, and served our country in war. He wears many different hats, and he wears them all with pride and dignity. Wade also spent time at Lancaster Bible College on his way to becoming a preacher, but decided to leave and join the military. Wade Henry defines “hero” in my opinion.

I met Wade when I moved into a new elementary school in fourth grade. In school Wade had some problems with behavior, attention span, and talking out loud. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and this created problems for him. Students would tease him because he had to go take his pill. That little pill defined Wade for years. It became the butt of many jokes as students would yell at him, “Go take your pill!” The struggles went on through high school because he wasn’t in the right “click” or group of students. Students and his own classmates teased him because he wasn’t cool because he didn’t do the things they did. It seemed like everything he was involved with was opposite of everyone else. For example, everyone (and I really mean everyone) is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan in our hometown. Wade’s favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys, the team that Steelers fans are supposed to hate! Wade wasn’t a great athlete so he didn’t fit in with some people, but Wade was a fireman and EMT. While many people were worried about being “cool”, Wade was focused on helping others. He refused to try to be somebody he was not, and I commend him for that.

The USNS Comfort

Following graduation from High School, Wade floated from job to job (but always remained a volunteer fireman and EMT) until he joined the U.S. Naval Academy. His decision to serve his country is something that really means a lot to me. He had to leave family and friends behind to go to basic training halfway across the country. He now works in the Washington D.C. area with a Naval ship that is a floating hospital. His ship was even deployed to the Middle East during “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. He was gone for months on a ship out in the middle of nowhere helping people. He is a nurse on the ship, and during the war he aided many people including burn victims, injured soldiers, and injured civilians.

US Navy Logo

Wade has worked extremely hard to get to where he is today, and I am proud to say that he is a friend of mine. His eagerness to succeed still hasn’t stopped as he has moved up to E-5 status in the Navy in a very short amount of time. I am sure that he will continue working extremely hard at becoming what he wants to be. I have a ton of respect for Wade Henry because he earned it and he deserves it.