Colin Powell

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We all have our own definition of a hero. Some people think that a hero is a person that does some superhuman feat, such as lifting a car to get a small child. Others think that a hero is someone who shows extraordinary bravery, someone who doesn’t back down when faced with the fear of dying, but rather stands up and meets it head on.

To me, a hero can be many things. First and foremost, a hero should have courage. Courage similar to that described as extraordinary bravery. They shouldn’t be afraid of death, but they shouldn’t be so cocky as to run out and get themselves into a life threatening situation every chance they can. A hero is someone who does the right thing most of the time, but when a hero does something wrong they can admit their mistake and learn from it. The final quality that a hero should have is the feeling that others are more important. A hero must be able to lay down his own life in order to save that of another. A hero must be able to do this, and at the same time must not be arrogant and be full of themselves for the deeds that they do.

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Colin Luther Powell was born April 5, 1937 in Harlem, New York. His parents, immigrants from Jamaica, urged him to get a good education during his youth, but Powell was never very interested in school. He managed to get into the City College of New York and there he got into the ROTC program. He graduated from the program in 1958, with the rank of cadet colonel, the highest awarded.

After ROTC Powell went on to be stationed in West Germany, and then he was assigned to a base in Massachusetts, where he met his wife, Alma Johnson. When the Vietnam War broke out Powell was sent to South Vietnam for his first tour of duty. He was wounded in action and taken back to the states where he studied in the Command and General Staff College before taking on his second tour in Vietnam. During that tour he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for pulling several soldiers from a burning helicopter.

After his second tour in Vietnam, Powell went to work in the Pentagon, and then in the White House. In 1973 he was sent to South Korea to command a battalion troubled by racial division. He succeeded in ended the conflict within the battalion and returned to Washington in the late 70’s, at the rank of Major General (a two star general). After receiving various posts in the Pentagon, he was appointed Secretary of Defense during the Reagan Administration, in 1983 and then was asked to become the National Security Advisor. By the time President George Bush, Sr. was elected, Powell was a Full General (four stars) and was appointed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first black person to ever reach the position.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, Powell was assigned to lead the International force that was to go to Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Shield. In January of 1991, Desert Shield turned into Desert Storm and Powell was responsible for commanding the forces that were to destroy the Iraqi Army that were numbered in the millions of men. After six weeks the Iraqi Army was crushed and Powell was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his leadership.

After the War, Powell continued to serve in the Government for several years. In April of 1997 he became the head chair for America’s Promise. This was an organization that tried to help all the youth of America and tried to make their lives better. By 1999 the organization had given opportunities to over 10 million children and Powell was still at the head of it. When the current President Bush was elected, he asked Powell to become the first black Secretary of State, and was sworn in four days later. Today he is still the Secretary of State and is largely involved as a representative of America in the international community.

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One of Powell’s colleague’s in the White House was once quoted as saying, “No one ever thinks of Colin being black; they think of him being good.” Powell was a man that came from the very intercity parts of New York that we would consider to this day to be very racially discriminative. He came from a place like that and managed to work his way up in the world to become one of the most powerful, and most respected, people today. He does not voice any public outrage about racism, but rather recognizes it and understands that the only way to end it is to have everyone work to try and stop it.

I said before that a hero most show courage and a readiness to lay down his life for others, which Powell showed in instances such as the helicopter crash, but a hero must not be arrogant either. To me, Powell is the farthest thing from being arrogant. He worked his way through the ranks by means of the military -- something he found he was good at and he is trying to make the world a better place. He is not sitting at home, retired, and just collecting on the governments’ paycheck every month because he realizes that, to him, that is the wrong thing to do. Colin Powell is my hero because he shows the qualities to fulfill the physical aspects, such as saving people, but he also has succeeded in life and he did it all by finding what his strengths were and using them to his advantage. These are the reasons why Colin Powell is my personal hero.