On writing a resume for a hero...

[catnhatnh]

...about 10 years back I had occasion to write a resume for a firefighter who was applying for the position of Assistant Fire Chief in my hometown.At this point in time my writing skills were beginning to gain some notice since I was editing a small town weekly newspaper.
So anyhow,the guy already had about 18 years on the job as a firefighter and was a lieutenant but had no college degree.His career was marked by solid performance, but a marked deficit in continuing education-in short he showed a great ability on the job, but showed no ongoing efforts to upgrade himself for promotion.It was going to be a tough sell in this world of ticket punching career advancement.
Anyhow to sell this guy I would have to highlight two things-that first the guy had the right stuff and secondly there was a reason he showed little effort to upgrade his credentials in the past.I invited the prospect to sit with me for an interview to get exact experiences and dates for his resume.
He was a combat veteran with the 101st Airborne, a few medals though he claimed the CIB was the only one that counted.He'd been drafted when he was suspended by a tech college and then drafted after he'd been reinstated-a mistake he regretted in retrospect.After coming back he worked in the civil service in a water treatment (sewage) plant for several years until openings appeared in the fire department.In the meanwhile he had married his childhood sweetheart and fathered two children.He Loved the department and his life.
I questioned him on the specifics of his army training to fill out spots in his resume...Ft. Dix....Ft. Lewis...11B...deployment...time in the field...combat NCO's course...Kit Carson liaison school...a year in the Ah Shau...
So the early years were golden-a resume that was rock hard and nearly heroic-bronze star, purple heart, multiple air medals...now all we had to cover was his prior lack of continuing career moves.It turns out the guy's two boys were stricken with a form of muscular dystrophy that attacks only males-there had been no sons on his wifes side of the family tree in several generations.He explained that because of this, he worked all the overtime he could plus an extra job (full time job he split with a firefighter on a different shift) for the extra money he wanted to give the boys what he could...vacations,top line toys, and nascar races which they loved...
They had both died in the past several years and now with his responsibilities reduced he was ready to accept a new challenge on the job.I wrote the resume-no charge...
I actually wrote two resumes-one for professional use and the other as a kidding aside-it mentions his short stint in college where I stated he majored in "Delaying the Inevitable" and that he received the "green weenie" and the "bronze star of continued existence" granted for combat in such and such a province for such and such a period of time...the purple heart I just couldn't mock.The courses he had taken in Viet Nam I labeled "shucking and ducking" and "zipspeak 101"...A kinda funny take to a guy I felt I knew well.
The guy was my brother-he didn't get the job and my Dad made me destroy all copies of the "joking" resume I wrote-he felt it might be damaging if it got out in public.My brother continued on the job and retired a few years back, still a lieutenant.
So in the end I wrote a resume for a hero-not for an infantry vet who lived horrors untold or the firefighter who ran into burning buildings for 25 years. I wrote a resume for a guy whom for 18 years, ignored what he might want or position he felt he could handle for just a few more bucks to give the boys anything they might enjoy.We buried his oldest in the tuxedo he wore to his high school prom...
They are out there and walk among us-we make heroes out of actions that last seconds-but more and more I believe real hereos take years to perform their best feats.They must endure,and struggle,and ultimately the only measure is their intention to slog along to do "good".I see them on this site and the nobility of their daily fidelity to their family,their friends,and their nation is a mark I would struggle to match.

PS:My brother recently told me that he posted my "bad" resume at the main firehouse at same time he submitted the "good" one to the town and claims he still has a copy.

PPS:This post was inspired by several recent posts that asked "was John McCain a hero"? So I thought about heros and what real ones look like...