5 True Stories Of Incredible Bravery That Define Heroism

Badassery is a quality very few can claim to have. And even fewer claims stand true. It is not associated with gender, age, success or even brilliance. Then what is it? The stories of these people are real-life examples of what courage and bravery actually mean. 1. Hugh Glass Hugh Glass, a man whose tombstone rightly reads “Adventurous”. In his early 40s, he was attacked by a grizzly bear in Grand River in 1823. The attack was so severe that his fellow trappers left him behind with the intention of escaping Native Americans. They even covered his body with a bear hide as a funeral shroud. Glass gained consciousness after a while, wrapped his body parts in the bear hide and began his crawling expedition along the banks of the Cheyenne River all the way till he reached civilization. That was a distance of 200 miles (320 km). To impede gangrene infestation on his wounds, he allowed maggots to eat his dead flesh. During his six-week peregrination, he consumed rattlesnakes, berries, roots and a stolen bison calf from two wolves. The man inspired not one but two movies; 'Man in the Wilderness' (1971) and 'The Revenant' (2015). This is the map of the area covered by a barely alive Glass. © frontier partisans 2. Juliane Koepcke © expres Juliane Koepcke (born 1954) is a German biologist who is famous for surviving a plane crash. The then seventeen-year-old Juliane fell from about 3 km after her plane was struck by lightning. Her landing in the rainforest left her with a broken collarbone, a wound on her arm and a swollen shut eye. While searching for other survivors she discovered two things; a box of sweets, which was the only food she consumed during her escape and that she was the only survivor out of 92 passengers. After nine days in the rainforest, Juliane found a boat belonging to lumbermen. This was how she survived to tell the story. She later worded her experience in, 'When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival'. 3. Simo Häyhä © soldierfortunemag Easily amongst the most top mentions while discussing skilled snipers, Simo Häyhä was nicknamed “White Death” by the Red Army mainly for his contribution in the 1939–40 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. During this very war, he broke the existing record for highest number of sniper kills in any major war with a headcount of 505 men in 100 days. The number is still not confirmed. He trained himself to shoot. He was in head-to-toe in white costume during the winter war (temperature were between -40 °C and −20 °C) to camouflage himself from the rival troops. This wasn't his only winning tactic; he stuffed his clothes with snow to provide padding for his rifle and prevent a bullet from piercing him. Another one of his discussed moves was to place snow in his mouth while sniping, to prevent steamy breaths giving away his position in the cold air. The Finnish newspapers created a heroic myth based on him as the "invisible Finnish soldier". He was awarded with an honorary rifle on 17 February 1940. The Soviets then began to prioritize Hayha's murder. After several failed attempts, they successfully discharged a bullet in his left jaw in March 1940. Even though the bullet detached half of his face, he recovered and died of natural causes in 2002. 4. Shavarsh Karapetyan © grantland Shavarsh Karapetyan is an Armenian fin swimmer and a 17-time World Champion. But he is known for a heroic rescue which ended his career. In 1976, a trolleybus crashed from a dam wall and plummeted into the water from 25 meters above. Karapetyan happened to witness the accident while jogging with his brother. He dove into the water to save 92 drowning passengers without giving it a second thought. He entered the bus by breaking a window with his legs in the dark and rescued 20 passengers. The incident left him in a 45-day long coma. Even though he recovered, the condition of his lung prevented him from pursuing his sports career. His bravery was acknowledged after photos evidence surfaced two years later. And an article published in a popular newspaper after six years from the day of the incident made him a hero. After that, he received about 60,000 letters. Around 10 years later, Karapetyan rescued people trapped in a burning building. He was offered multiple awards including a UNESCO “Fair Play” honour for heroism. 5. Roy Benavidez © psywarrior Roy Benavidez was a celebrated member of the United States Army Special Forces. He stood as a true hero when one of his 12-member troop was attacked by 1000 enemies in Vietnam. He set out to save them but his helicopter could not land given the continuous intense fire. He exited the hovering helicopter and ran 75 meters to his comrades and took three bullets; in the head, leg and face. Despite his severely injured state, he ensured favorable landing conditions for the helicopter and continued fighting. He was repeatedly shot and also took a grenade attack. His helicopter crashed and he managed to rescue the pilot. It was during his second helicopter rescue after an enemy soldier's attack that he allowed his comrades to take him to safety, but he didn't do that before killing the enemy with his bare hands. The legend had a total of 37 separate wounds from a six-hour fight. Records suggest that he saved at least eight soldiers and killed many enemy soldiers. After reaching the base he was announced dead. Somehow, he gathered enough strength to spit on the man's face who was enclosing him in a body bag to prove that he is still alive. He received the Medal of Honor by the President of the United States for his bravery.