Time to restore the word ‘hero’ this Veterans Day

It's been a long time since I put on my United States Marine Corps uniform.

On Friday night I was honored to be the guest of honor at the Sussex County Marine Birthday Ball, the USMC is now 249 years old. I joked that I was fitted for my "Dress Blues" at Parris Island in 1991 weighing in at 173 pounds. We're a few pounds heavier now and , well, the Blues don't fit. So I was happy to wear a tux and celebrate the milestone with my fellow Marines, including combat veteran and USMC officer, Joe Labarbera.

Then Saturday morning we joined my friend Sean Mabey, who serves on the Council in Kinnelon, for a huge celebration of veterans at the municipal building. We had a perfect weather day and the crowds turned out.

In my remarks on both occasions, I was sure to mention the hero officer, Sgt. Jeff Rivera from the ACPD whose watch ended on November 3rd, 2024.

Sgt. Rivera served his community faithfully since joining the police force in 2006. His duty started in the immediate aftermath of the death of his brother, Eric. Eric was serving his nation in Iraq when he was killed by a sniper's bullet after heroically attempting to save fellow service members pinned down by enemy fire. Sgt. Rivera lost his battle with cancer and left behind his wife Lisbeth and four children.

I also talked about Marine Gunnery Sgt John Basilone who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Guadalcanal. Then, instead of continuing as a promoter of war bonds, safe from the hell of warfare, Basilone, a Raritan, NJ native, went back to war to stand up for his nation and his brothers in arms. He was killed in action at Iwo Jima upon his return to battle.

These are examples of true American heroes. Men who stepped up to serve and risk their own lives and safety for strangers to fight for the nation they call home. America is in need of more heroes as we head into the uncertainty of the future.

Many enemies want nothing less than our complete destruction. Thankfully we dodged a historical bullet on Election Day avoiding the would-be disaster of having a committed socialist focused on supporting the invasion of foreigners across our Southern Border. That said, there's a lot of work to do.

We have to get our culture back to normal. We need to start valuing and celebrating the differences in men and women. Our culture must again celebrate and honor the value of masculinity and femininity. We must redefine heroism back to the days of real heroes.

Firefighters who run into burning buildings, marines who face machine gun fire to take a remote beach, police officers who run toward the armed perp, teachers who take on the most dangerous of cities to provide education, nurses who work round the clock to save lives at risk of contracting deadly illnesses.

Let's stop pretending that weird men who wear dresses and bully their way into girls' sports are somehow heroes. At best, they are mentally ill, at worst, they are crisis actors capitalizing on the racial political correctness pushed by leftists and the corporate media.

It's time to teach our kids about real heroes. And honor those veterans who fought for our nation and put on the uniform to stand tall for freedom.

My time in the Marines was not a story of heroism. I enlisted during my senior year at Boston University while the first Gulf War was raging. The Marines deferred my enlistment until after graduation and shipped off to Parris Island that Fall.

My 8-year enlistment in the Reserves was a combination of active-duty assignments at Camp Geiger/Pendelton and Fort Sill Oklahoma. I trained and reported to monthly drill weekends throughout my time as a reservist.

By the time I was out of Parris Island, the Gulf War had ended and when my contract ended in 1999, I left with an honorable discharge having no idea that in just two years many of the men I served with would head off to the Middle East in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

The real heroes are those men and women who sacrifice for the rest of us. They spend time away from their families. They experience harsh conditions that test every fiber of their training and character. They make decisions in the face of traumatic circumstances and in many cases have witnessed terrible mayhem and death.

We need to rise above the utter nonsense of the DEI culture and fake heroes among the Hollywood elite. Let's start honoring the real heroes who will wake up today and put on the uniform without hesitation and face whatever danger and trial lies ahead.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

Report a correction 👈