"What is a hero? My heroes are the young men and women who faced the issues of war and possible death, and then weighed those concerns against obligations to their country. Citizen-soldiers who interrupted their personal and professional lives at their most formative stage, 'not for fame or reward, not for place or rank, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it.'

Who now deserves a far better place in history than what was offered them on their return home?"

Exerpted from Heroes of the Vietnam Generation by James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy.

Stories from Our Heros:

• Homer James Mead
• George Baker