Edward J 'Babe' Heffron, Co E, 501st PIR 101st ABN, RIP

[randy]

Story on Fox

To the end, Edward James “Babe” Heffron insisted that he wasn’t a hero, that his service in World War II was simply part of an obligation to serve his country in a time of need.

But when fame followed him in the wake of Stephen Ambrose’s book “Band of Brothers” and its HBO miniseries, Heffron, who died Sunday at the age of 90 after a short battle with colon cancer, used it to praise the sacrifices made by countless men and women during America’s most trying times.

“He felt the heroes were the moms who sent their kids off and the guys who never came back,” Ed Zavrel, Heffron’s son-in-law, told FoxNews.com Tuesday night. “Babe didn’t consider himself a hero, just a guy who did his job.”

A common attitude among true heroes.

RIP

[First Shirt]

They sure left some big shoes to fill.

[PawPaw]

And we're losing more of them, every day.

[First Shirt]

When someone says "Thank you for your service" I think of these guys, and I feel like a total fraud. I keep expecting lightning to strike right where I'm standing.

G-d willing, we will (eventually) prove worthy of their efforts.

[Weetabix]

When I see old guys wearing WWII Veteran ball caps, I stop them and thank them. It's odd how many of them look at me like, "What the hell's wrong with you? Why are you talking to me, you impudent pup?"

Oh, well. I still appreciate what they did.

And First Shirt - You served. You were just lucky enough not to have the same circumstances presented to you that they had. I feel certain that guys like you, in the same circumstances that those guys were in, would step up just like they did.

Risking the lightning: "Thank you for your service to all the guys here who previously served or who are now serving."

[Aesop]

For Heffron. For McClung.

[308Mike]

Guys like him are sure to go to Heaven, 'cause they've certainly spent their time in HELL! May he rest in peace.

[Windy Wilson]

I think I've said this before, one of my neighbors was in the AAF and flew transports over the "Hump" into China. He and a buddy attended some dinner with Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai once, and the buddy turned to him in mid-dinner to say, "this guy thinks he's going to take over China."
When I first met him and his wife, out for a walk with their dog, he was wearing a battered 14th Air Force ball cap. I thanked him for his service and it embarrassed him, because he said, "Thanks, I needed that." with a little laugh. He was from the generation that "just did it". No need for the participation trophy and stuff, no heroic self-narration a la that scene in "Caddyshack" to give the mundane an undeserved importance.