This is Carlos Arredondo, a 52-year-old Costa Rican immigrant. He was at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday with his wife , waiting for the last of the National Guard runners. They were representing Run for the Fallen Maine, an organization established to honor Marines who have been killed since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. One of those runners had dedicated the race to Mr Arredondo's son.
Believe it or not that is only a part of the heroism of this incredible man.
To read the rest please click the link at the top.
Once you have finished you might want to click here and sign the petition urging the President to give this man the Presidential Citizens Medal for the bravery he demonstrated after those terrible blasts.
Yesterday I was feeling pretty upset about my country, but with citizens like this man among us I continue to have hope for our future.
What an amazing man. In the midst of such horrific chaos, a hero - one of many, I'm sure - emerges.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin and her Hate Squad would call him an Illegal Alien... but we know better. We know the truth. We always do.
Thank you for people like this man...jumped in to help no asking how much he would be paid or saying "that's not my job"!
DeleteI saw the WHOLE picture of the poor man in the wheelchair and I'm glad he's ok.
So much pain that day.
Going to click and sing petition...
He is a hero. But in the eyes of the bigoted GOP, he is a Costan Rican immigrant, and thus only due scorn, minimum wage jobs, and deportation if he doesn't meet their standards, whatever they are this week (perfect English, pays more taxes than they do, passed his citizenship test.) The GOP should be ashamed for focusing on ruining this nation for everyone while demeaning immigrants and women in the process. Their sequestor helped cause this bombing, and the plant explosion in Texas. Thank you GOP...your kind of 'patriotism' we do not need here.
ReplyDeleteGryph, Have you missed this part of his story?
ReplyDeletehttp://warisacrime.org/carlos
http://crooksandliars.com/2007/09/20/gold-star-father-who-lost-son-in-iraq-allegedly-beaten-by-members-of-pro-war-group
I was just about to post that. Glad you linked it.
DeleteMr. Arredondo is a true American hero. He has faced serious tragedy (two sons' deaths, his own horrific (self-inflicted) injuries due to his grief from the loss of his first son, and a beating by cowards.
He is a much stronger person than I could ever be, in that he continues to fight against atrocities in spite of his own personal history.
More: http://warisacrime.org/downloads/carlos/index.htm
ReplyDeleteThe faces of WTF is wrong with America:
ReplyDeletehttp://warisacrime.org/downloads/carlos/pages/196954874-M_jpg.htm
As much as I would like to honor Mr Arrendondo individually, there were plenty of other citizens with the cojones to jump right in to help. They should all be identified and honored along with with Mr Arrendondo. I will sign the petition, however, as a symbolic gesture to this brave individual.
ReplyDeleteI dawned on me yesterday that the fatalities would have been much higher had trained medical providers not been just yards away. They expected the usual hypothermia and dehydration cases - they witnessed the effects of war.
Where are we headed as a nation, folks?
Carlos is a tragic hero. It doesn't surprise me in the least that he'd vault a fence to apply pressure to a bleeding stranger's femoral artery.
ReplyDeleteMr. Arredondo can be defined by his heroism, responding to the crisis the Boston Marathon attack in a way we hope we all would.
ReplyDeleteBut I read about how he handled being informed of his son's death. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a grown son, fighting for your country in a war we were lied into, but the man, probably prone to theatrics, tore into the informing officers vehicle, trashed it, and soaked himself and the vehicle with gasoline and threatened to light it. Now if he had simply trashed the lying, taking government's property - that I would understand. But he went and made a bad situation worse.
I can't and wouldn't take anything away from the man, he was grieving when he lost it, and his acts at the finish line are incredible. I appreciate what he's turned his grief into, activism in the form of Run for the Fallen Maine. He's productive, and may have helped save lives and minimize the trauma of life threatening injuries.
But I just don't know about him.
I can't judge him so harshly myself. We all have our demons, and we all have the ability to be "heroic" in some sense... to someone.
DeleteI don't know what made him "snap" -- both when he heard the tragic news of his son -- and when he "snapped" to jump into the chaos and help others. But I'm glad he survived the first to be there for the second.
Please remember, too, that his other son committed suicide, inspired in part by the death of his brother.
DeleteThe war that we shouldn't have been in in the first place took TWO of this man's sons.
Anon at 5:04 - Your comment makes me angry but I will try to restrain myself from responding in anger.
ReplyDelete//deep breath//
You say you can't imagine what it would be like to lose a grown son. Do you have children? None of us knows what we would do in that situation. I certainly don't, and I have an adult son. I would kill anyone who would harm him.
That being said, I wouldn't call his actions theatrics. Ever.
I would likely call you a concern troll and shame on you!
Oh, and anon 5:04 - he didn't "threaten" to light a vehicle (which can be replaced) on fire. He actually lit himself on fire, in his grief. He suffered Burns on 25% of his own body. But you "just don't know about him." You're an ass.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read all of the above comments...forgive me if I repeat something already said.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed the fact that this man isn't wearing blue rubber gloves?
He didn't hesitate to get his hands bloody--from complete strangers--he simply jumped in and started helping, with no thought to his own safety. (Well, I don't know if he thought about his safety or not...I wasn't in his head. But as a medical professional, I know the dangers of communicable diseases. I wear gloves with every human patient I treat...not so with my canine and feline patients, but I digress.)
I'm not belittling all the rest of the First Responders, policemen, volunteers, firemen, paramedics, EMT's, etc who did wear gloves (so don't come after me)...what I'm saying is that this man IS a hero in my book. He saw a need and he acted. And in so doing, could have, possibly, put himself in danger.
I don't know if I'm just rambling right now.
I see the picture of him with the man in the wheelchair and I think to myself that if I ever am in a situation where I need someone's help, I pray to the Universe that there will be a Carlos Arredondo nearby.
dlbvet ...please at least take the time to click the links in the 3rd comment and see the p.o.s. "patriots" beating on him for his anti-war stance. Here's the text from the one link: http://warisacrime.org/carlos
Delete"Carlos Arredondo, 47 year old father of two sons, arrived in the nation's capitol on Monday, 09/10/07 to share a memorial he has made to honor for his eldest son, Alex. Carlos has visited thirty of the United States with the traveling memorial to his son Alexander. Lcpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, USMC was killed on 08/25/04. He was 20 years and 20 days old. The memorial consists of a casket, poster- size photographs of Alex when he graduated from boot camp, before his second tour in Iraq, lying in state at his wake, and a photo of Alex with his younger brother Brian.
Saturday, September 15, 2007 consisted of first a rally, a march towards the capitol and then a die-in. Carlos pulled the memorial along the march route approaching the rotunda near the capitol building. Several of the marchers requested for him to speak about the memorial where a crowd gathered around him. After finishing, several people walked with Carlos as he pulled the memorial. Several pictures of Alex dressed in his blues were attached to the display.
As Carlos passed counter protesters, one man ripped a picture of Alex from the memorial. Carlos leaped on the man to retrieve the picture. It was at that point that approximately five others all began to attack Carlos by kicking him in the head, legs, stomach and back.
The Capitol police bicycle patrol then appeared to break up the fight. Several officers including a female officer were engaged in breaking up the fight and were able to stop any further injuries from occurring. Hannah Jones who was walking with Carlos was also assaulted.
A bystander named Ramesh witnessed the whole encounter and also retrieved the picture of Alex for Carlos. He was quite distressed at how he watched the men follow Carlos as he pulled the memorial, purposefully yelling epiphets and eventually taking Alex's photograph. Soon, an ambulance showed up as well as many concerned activists. The paramedics provided first aid to Carlos but he did not seek further medical attention. Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked."
Again...I restate what I wrote earlier...THIS MAN IS A HERO in my humble opinion.
DeleteHis selfless acts, with no thought to personal safety (which is what I was trying to point out), are the mark of a true hero.
Again...I restate...if I should ever be in need of assistance in some horrible situation, I would wish for a hero like Mr. Arrondondo.
Did I really need to clarify my point or were you somehow thinking I was putting Mr. Arrondondo down...cause that was the absolute last thing I was doing with my post.
Is that what we've come to? That we won't help because there's blood and we don't have our rubber gloves?
DeleteThank goodness this man didn't hesitate while the namby pamby Americans were looking for their latex gloves.
No, not at all, quite the opposite. I was trying to add some background to what all this man has been through. He acted selflessly and heroically in a moment of confusion and danger.
DeleteAnd this very same man, this true hero, was attacked and beaten in 2007 by thugs wrapping themselves in the flag and calling themselves patriots.
I think that it is important to know this to truly appreciate the depth of his character and what all he has been through.
What a remarkable human being! We need a new definition of the word "hero". If anyone deserves recognition from President Obama, THIS man's first in line!
ReplyDeleteSigned.
ReplyDeleteI don't do facebook or I'd post it there. Well, no one would read it as I have no friends. I'll post it on my blogs, but no one reads them either.
93,000 signatures to go by May 16.
Here's an even MORE incredible update to this story!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/boston-bombing-victim-in-iconic-photo-helped-identify-attackers.html
There's even MORE to this incredible story!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/boston-bombing-victim-in-iconic-photo-helped-identify-attackers.html