Across our nation, in the Spring and Summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day, including Flag Day, Juneteenth, Father’s Day and Four th of July, t here are countless celebrations where the word “hero” will be applied. That word will be the underlining theme of speeches, TV shows, parades, fireworks, barbeques, marathons and s ales throughout America.

We celebrate heroes. It’s our custom. Even though today, the actions of some of our hero standard-bearers are now being re examined, there are still plenty to go around. The Webster dictionary defines the word “hero” as “a p erson who has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.” In classic mythology, a hero was someone who is thought to be godlike — a talented warrior-a chieftain with special strength, or an immortal being.

Today, we tend to think of our heroes in a more downto- earth way—still ver y noble—but a mortal among us who has done things—big and small—that makes a difference in our lives. Everyday heroes: The Little League coach. The motorist who stopped to help you fix your flat tire. The neighbor w ho saved a child in a burning building. The person who found and returned your lost dog. Your dad.

Tuskegee Airman and Local 237 member the late Dabney Montgomery.

Several celebrities weigh-in on what defines a “hero”, among them, Who opie Goldberg, who once asked: “Who amongst us doesn’t want to be a hero?” Mariah Carey suggested “If you look inside yourself and you believe, you can be your own hero.” While Maya Angelou defined a hero as “any pers on really intent on making this a better place for all p eople.” Perhaps it was Arthur Ashe who summed it up best. “True heroism is remarkably sober and ver y undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whate ver cost.”

And a hero doesn’t need a specific classification or categor y to qualif y. In fact, that could actually limit the accomplishments. Morgan Freeman reminds us that “Mar tin Luther King Jr., was not a Black hero. He is an American hero.”

So, whether it’s the count less men and women in the military who bring dignity and valor to the unifor m they wear in defense of our freedom, or the School Safety Agents who provided students with free prom gowns, or the NYCHA worker who makes sure that the flowers are in full bloom by the b enches where the elderly ladies sit, we take sp ecial pride in knowing that many L ocal 237 memb ers selflessly help others. To them we say, “Thank You”.

Among them is the late Tuskegee Airman Dabney Montgomer y. Dabney was a NYCHA Housing Assistant for 14 years, who distinguished himself as an exemplar y s oldier known for his bravery in World War ll, yet was denied the right to vote w hen he got home. Although he was among the security detail for Dr. King on his historic march from Selma to Memphis, it took nearly 60 years after World War II ended for him to be awarded the C ongressional Gold Medal. Now, the heels of his shoes from that march are on display in the first-of-itskind National Museum of African American Histor y and Culture in Washington, D.C., and a street sign in Harlem bears his name. Wow! How many unions can b oast of having a Tuskegee Airman among its members?

Clearly, the word hero applies to the highly acclaimed and the virtually unknown. Men and women who rise to the situation but may not get a parade to honor their accomplishments, medals to wear on their chest, trophies for the mantel or news headlines. Just ever yday heroes whose reward is knowing that they made a difference. Many are Local 237 members. To all of them we say, “ Thank You”.