Aurora heroes: Three who gave their lives
[Aurora heroes: Three who gave their lives By
William Bennett] "(CNN) -- Great evil often brings out the best in good
men, men like Todd Beamer on Flight 93, Medal of Honor recipient Michael
Murphy in Afghanistan and now the Aurora three -- the three young men,
each in different parts of theater nine, who gave their lives to protect
their girlfriends.
Twenty-five-year-old Jon Blunk was sitting next to his girlfriend,
Jansen Young, at the midnight premiere of "The Dark Night Rises" when
the gunman (who shall remain nameless) opened fire in the dark theater.
Blunk instinctively pushed his girlfriend to the ground and threw his
body on top of hers. Blunk, a security guard, served eight years in the
Navy and was in the process of re-enlisting in hopes of becoming a Navy
SEAL, family and friends said. He was killed in the gunfire; his
girlfriend survived.
Twenty-four-year-old Alex Teves dived on top of his girlfriend, Amanda
Lindgren, when the gunfire erupted. Covering her body, he took the
bullets so they did not harm her. She survived the massacre; he did not.
Matt McQuinn, 27 years old, threw his body in front of his girlfriend,
Samantha Yowler, as the shooting continued. Yowler survived with a
gunshot wound to the knee; McQuinn's body absorbed the fatal shots.
These men were three of the 12 innocent people killed early that
morning. Their incredible sacrifice leaves us asking: Why? Why would a
young man with his entire life ahead of him risk everything for a woman
he has no legal, financial or marital obligations to?
As Hanna Rosin so eloquently pointed out in a recent article, calling it
chivalry would be a tremendous understatement. By all appearances, these
men believed that a man has a responsibility to protect a woman, even to
the point of death. They believed that there are things in life worth
dying for and the innocent woman sitting next to them was one.
They believed, to put it simply, in a code of honor. They put the lives
of the women before their own, an old fashioned notion to be sure, but
certainly an honorable one (if you have any doubt, ask the survivors).
Their instincts were to protect, not run away..." Full text:
Aurora heroes: Three who gave their lives By
William Bennett Jn 15:13
