Vegas Heroes

In the wake of the Las Vegas shootings, politicians have gotten up and railed for their respective sides. We’ve heard just about all the politicizing of a tragedy that we can stand. Instead of giving any more attention to that, let’s talk about a few men who did great things.The masculine bravado in all of us, wants to do as Dan Bilzerian did, try to get a gun and fire back at the shooter. As dumb as it was in hindsight, take a moment and reflect. Did you not for a minute think to yourself that; “If I had a gun, I could have stopped him.” When the game is on the line, winners want the ball, Gene Hackman told Keanu Reeves that in the replacements. When it’s put up or shut up, winners want the challenge. Now most of us, that thought passed through our heads and right out, as critical thinking took place and we realized that we’d no more have stopped him as anyone else there on the ground. However, a difference could still be made. What happens when you don’t have a firearm? What do you do when the thing you’re trained to do is unavailable to you. Improvise, adapt, and overcome.Sergeant Michael Vura and Corporal Austin Cox did just that. Despite being out of their element as mechanics in the United States Marine Corps, these two young men sprang into action carrying wounded from the kill zone and treating wounded with the basics they’d learned in basic training. “We didn’t really think about it,” Vura remembered, “it was just..we gotta get up there and help who we can. People were all getting trapped and barricaded,” he added. “You start helping people get over the barricade.” These two Marines didn’t waste time thinking about if they had a weapon what good they could have done. They knew they were out of there element in that realm, but they were in shape, strong and brave, darting into the kill-zone several times to pull people out of harm’s way. Another shining example of veterans and service members is Taylor Winston who stole a nearby contracting truck to transport victims to the hospital. Taylor didn’t think, he acted! After making several trips taking 10-15 victims to hospitals. “[we took] 20 to 30 people” to the hospital that night. “Once we dropped them off, we were like well, let’s go back for round two and go get some more,” he said. Taylor left a note apologizing to the owner for the theft and hoped the owner would understand, given the circumstances.While some are posturing and trying to play hero, there are some real-life heroes out there who don’t have trust funds or gun safes full of the coolest guns and accompanying gadgets. They’re just men who jumped into action because they knew their limitations and their capabilities. They’re men who don’t mind getting dirty. They’re men who don’t mind the blood or the bullets. In the end their men who hold the lives of others, as more precious than their own. We salute the selfless actions of Sergeant Michael Vura, Corporal Austin Cox and Taylor Winston (USMC Veteran). American this is what you can expect from your veterans and active duty military members among you.P.S. Don’t talk shit to a living breathing Medal of Honor recipient, Dan!