Lance Brett Wightman

Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman

My view of a hero is an authoritative, strong, responsible man standing tall, looking out in the distance with the American flag blowing in the wind and the national anthem playing in the background. A hero is someone who does what they have to do in life, legally, to survive and no matter how many obstacles they face they overcome them with courage and persistence. Many people have a common view of a hero, famous, old, publicly known, but there are other people who say that heroes are regular people making it though life having fun and actually living.

Twenty-three year old Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman is my hero and is a perfect example of the term “putting every thing on the line.” He grew up in Clinton County that is very close to Dayton, Ohio and graduated from East Clinton High School 3 years ago. Since he was 3 years old his dream was to become a marine and when he was 17 years old his dream came true when his dad took him to the U.S. Marine recruiting station to sign him up.

Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman

While Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman was a Marine, he took his duties to heart. When in Iraq, Lance said “We just rescued some children from this house. And if you could have seen the looks on their faces and how glad they were to see us, it made it all worthwhile.” So he certainly didn’t die without any comfort and certainly didn’t die without any support from his family and friends.

There’s only one type of hero that Brett Wightman could be and that hero is “Hero to others near and far.” Brett is a hero to others near and far because of his sacrifice, his ultimate sacrifice; he gave his life fighting for what he thought was right in Iraq as a Marine. Also he was a great person because if he wasn’t, there wouldn’t be any mourning for his death.

In conclusion, Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman lived for a purpose and died without his dreams being fulfilled. Once again he wasn’t famous or even known to the world, except now, and he made himself known by doing what he thought was right in his heart.