You can ask the many individuals who roamed the streets of New York on that fateful day in 2001 about charity. They would tell you of the numerous events they witnessed that involved people who cradled bodies they had never seen before and shouted names they had never heard before all in attempts to comfort one another in a time of horror. They would continue to tell you about the first responders who rushed into burning buildings without second thought to enable strangers to escape collapsing rubble.
You can ask the marine who laid behind a few sandbags on a rooftop in Afghanistan during the surge of 2010 about selflessness. He would tell you that as he and his friend took cover from incoming sniper fire, a grenade – absent of its pin – landed right next to him. He can still tell his account, because his best friend, Corp. William “Kyle” Carpenter, dove on top of the explosive and absorbed the blow, which saved his life.
You can read about the strangers who stood in line to give blood after an act of terrorism left 49 dead and 53 wounded at a nightclub in Orlando. If you keep reading, you may come across an entire flight of strangers that comforted a grieving grandmother of one of the victims. You may also find a few stories that shed light on individuals who ushered the survivors to safety in the very thick of the attack.
