Latest news with #hero
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Hold on to me.' Victim saved fiancee in violent tornado that hit Central KY
When Ronnie Hill and his fiance Tonya Orberson heard a tornado with its 115 mph winds barreling down on their Washington County home right around 7 a.m. Friday morning, they raced to the laundry room. Ronnie laid of top of Tonya and told her, 'No matter what, you hold on to me.' 'She said all of a sudden, they just all went up in the air. Her and Ronnie were still holding hands, Lashanna Gibson, who is Orberson's daughter, told the Herald-Leader Saturday. 'She was screaming, and Ronnie was saying, 'Do not let go.'' The raging tornado lifted and destroyed their home, sending the couple flying. 'They ended up beside the pond. They were still laying right beside of each other whenever they hit the ground, Gibson said. 'Mom said she woke up and she was hollering for him. He wouldn't answer her. She looked over and she could tell that he was already gone. ' 'He protected her until his last breath,' Gibson said. 'He was a true hero.' The 48-year-old Ronnie, the only person who died in Friday's EF2 tornado that struck Washington County, and Tonya got engaged to be married in late April. They hadn't yet set a wedding date. Tonya was at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital Saturday with a broken back, a broken arm, a dislocated elbow and a large cut on her head, Gibson said. Jack Coleman, a former state lawmaker and father of Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, said Ronnie worked for him as a contractor. Coleman was the project manager during the construction of All Together Recovery, a 50-bed residential addiction treatment center for men in Danville. Coleman worked with Ronnie, who continued to oversee maintenance and remodeling at the center's apartments after construction was completed. 'He could do anything,' he said Saturday. 'We hired Ronnie last summer. He was wonderful. He had just come out of recovery. He had a powerful testimony. He gave people hope that they could be successful in recovery, too. 'He was really a goodhearted fellow,' Coleman added. 'He wanted to help people.' Coleman said when he learned on Friday that Ronnie had died, 'I just couldn't believe it.' Mark La Palme, a consultant at the All Together Recovery Center, said the men in recovery who lived in the apartments where Ronnie was a maintenance man and remodeler, cried when they heard he died. 'He had a ton of past to overcome, but he did it,' said LaPalme. 'He did it with grace and mercy and style. Ronnie would literally have given you his last penny, his last gallon of gas, the shirt off of his back. 'That's the kind of guy that Ronnie Hill was.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘Hero' Grandfather Dies After Saving Twin Granddaughters from a Falling Tree Limb: 'He Sacrificed His Life'
A grandfather is dead after he saved his twin granddaughters from a tree limb that almost fell on top of them in Georgia on May 28 Manuel Pinzon, 77, is being hailed as a "hero" and someone who "chose to protect" The twin girls are now in counseling following the death of their grandpa, whom they had a close relationship withA Georgia grandfather is being hailed as a 'hero' after sacrificing himself to save his twin granddaughters. Manuel Pinzon, 77, died on Wednesday, May 28, after pushing the two 8-year-old children, Isabella and Gabriela, out of the way when a tree limb almost fell on top of them, according to WANF-TV, WSB-TV and ABC News. Jason Krause, the twins' father, said the incident happened at around 12 p.m. local time while his daughters were spending time at their grandfather's home in Dacula. He told the outlets the kids had been exploring the forest behind Pinzon's home when they found a baby deer. As they returned to their grandfather with news of the sighting, Pinzon told them to eat lunch first before going back out to check if the deer needed any food or water. The twins, Pinzon and his sister then went outside to check on the deer when the freak accident happened, according to WANF-TV. 'There was a very loud cracking sound, crashing,' Krause told WSB-TV. 'Cracking is kind of how they described it, and they got shoved out of the way." "Then, when [the twins] turned back, [Pinzon] had gotten them out of the way and taken the full hit of a falling branch, a falling limb on his head, and he didn't make it," he added. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The 20-foot branch had fallen from at least 60 feet in the air, and Pinzon "took the full brunt of that branch on his head," Krause told ABC News and WSB-TV. He said that one of the twins called 911, while the other ran back into the house to get help. One of Pinzon's granddaughters also followed directions from first responders to put a rag behind their grandfather's head to keep it stable. Emergency responders eventually arrived on the scene to transport Pinzon to the hospital. He died about four hours after the incident, per WSB-TV. 'He sacrificed his life to save my two twins from a tree,' Krause told WANF-TV. In a separate interview with WSB-TV, he added of Pinzon, 'He chose to protect his sister and these two girls instead of himself. And I don't think that should be forgotten. He was a hero." Gabriela told WANF-TV that her grandpa died 'as a hero." Krause told ABC News that his daughters would begin trauma counseling the following week to help them deal with the sudden loss of their grandfather, as 'having him gone like that was very traumatic." He explained that Pinzon was "one of the biggest influences in their life,' and he picked them up from school twice a week. The man's family told WANF-TV that Pinzon was someone who loved being outdoors and loved his family. He fled Colombia 30 years ago to seek out a better life for his wife and daughters in America, WSB-TV reported. "He was a great person. I've known him for almost 18 years now, I wish I could be half the person he was. He was amazing," Krause told ABC News, adding that Pinzon would have turned 78 on June 8. Pinzon leaves behind two daughters, five grandchildren and a wife of 50 years, per the outlet. Read the original article on People
Fox News
2 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew defined courage fighting for what she believed
In an age of instant accolades and viral valor, heroes are everywhere. Celebrities tearfully describing a difficult breakup on daytime TV are deemed heroic. You knew the word had lost all meaning when alleged murderer Luigi Mangione became a "hero" on social media for taking the life of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare. How is it that we have so lost the thread? Just who qualifies as a hero was on my mind as I began researching my book "Lincoln's Lady Spymaster" several years ago. We were in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives upended. I eagerly ditched the commute and worked from home but as the months in isolation slid by, I began to worry. How long could this go on for? The situation was more dire for many of the young women producers I had worked with in our offices in Manhattan. They were lonely and anxious, living alone in tiny New York apartments or at home in their childhood bedrooms. One young woman I knew started having panic attacks. I wanted to help these co-workers cope – but what could I do? Look, I reasoned with myself, women in this country have faced far more difficult challenges than a temporary lockdown (it had to be temporary, after all!). American women have survived wars, myriad financial panics and so many challenges. I decided I would find a subject, a real woman from our nation's past, someone who lived through challenging times and not only survived but left her mark on the world. I wanted what we all want in a hero – someone acting courageously, not for headlines or money or even public gratitude, but because they felt called to right a wrong regardless of consequences. I first learned of Elizabeth Van Lew the same way we find out about most new things, from a web search. An academic historian had written about her, and she was sometimes included in lists of the moonlight-and-magnolia-style of female civil war spies, the kind historians don't take too seriously. I was hooked when I learned she was a spymaster, and strikingly, a Southern belle who chose to stay faithful to the Union and who ran a spy ring for President Abraham Lincoln's top general, Ulysses S. Grant, while living in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. When I began, I thought of myself as knowledgeable about the era. I knew the bright lights, Lincoln, Grant, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But this woman had left little trace. She was generally missing from much of the Civil War literature. James McPherson mentioned her not at all in his sweeping nearly 900-page history of the conflict, "Battle Cry of Freedom." I learned she had left a diary, where she spilled her fears and hopes during the war. I imagined myself writing a book about a woman whom society underestimates and throws obstacles in her path, a tale of uplift! But my research exposed a secret history – a story Van Lew herself tried to cancel. Unlike other spies, she refused to write a book of her Civil War exploits after the war and conducted few newspaper interviews. I began to discover the real Elizabeth and she surprised me. I found she was complicated and made difficult, morally questionable decisions. She lied to friends and neighbors, brazenly stole secrets from some and bribed others. Although she was a supporter of both the Union and abolitionism, her family owned slaves. Late in the war, as she became frustrated at the pace of Union advances, she tried to convince Union war planners to abduct Confederate leadership. She was the kind of woman who could as easily inspect the body of a dead soldier at dawn under threat of discovery by the enemy as preside over a tea party, swapping gossip and passing canapes. And, yet she provided invaluable information to the Union and ran what historians have described as the most-effective spy ring on either side of the conflict. As I began writing the book, I recalled the fact that co-workers and friends had labeled me a hero when I went public with my diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer. While it felt nice to be called a hero, I never really accepted the idea. My fight with cancer was really an act of self-interest. What I saw in Elizabeth Van Lew was someone who acted with no self-regard, inviting risk after risk. Hers was not a Daniel Penny kind of courage, the kind of instant reaction to fight a physical threat on behalf of others that we all admire, but a more sustained battle of conscience and will. In this world, we need both kinds of heroes and could welcome more. This year marks the 160th anniversary of the Civil War's end and Lincoln's assassination. As we remember that tragic war, let's not forget the heroes that emerged, especially those that have remained in the shadows. Elizabeth Van Lew was one of tens of thousands of women who emerged to fight the war in their own way. Hundreds fought on the battlefield following husbands, brothers and fathers into service; women nursed the injured, others ran their family farms and businesses on their own for the first time. Van Lew's story is a testament to the essence of true heroism: unwavering moral conviction, selfless action and the courage to stand against prevailing tides. In an era when the term "hero" is often diluted, her legacy reminds us that real heroes are those who, without fanfare, commit themselves to justice and humanity.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Georgia grandfather sacrifices his life to save twin granddaughters from falling tree limb: ‘He was a hero'
A 77-year-old Georgia grandfather was killed by a falling tree limb as he saved the lives of his twin granddaughters while they were in their backyard. Manuel Pinzon died on Wednesday afternoon, according to WANF. Son-in-law Jason Krause told the outlet that Pinzon saved the eight-year-old twins by pushing them out of the way. 'He sacrificed his life to save my two twins from a tree,' he said. 'They got shoved out of the way. He got them out of the way, but took the full hit of a fallen limb on his head, and he didn't make it.' Twins Isabella and Gabi were out with Pinzon and his sister when the family heard a loud cracking sound. Just moments later, the grandfather was on the ground, injured. 'I told my sister to run to the front yard and to get some help,' Gabi told WANF. The grandfather is being remembered as a hero. 'He saved me,' Gabi said. Krause noted that the grandfather loved his family as well as the outdoors. The son-in-law described him as the greatest man he had ever known. 'For as sad as everybody is and for as much crying as everyone's done since, all I want to do is toast him,' Krause told WANF. 'And I want to celebrate him because he was a hero.' The incident took place at Pinzon's home in Dacula, Georgia, according to ABC News. The twins were exploring the forest behind the backyard when they found a baby deer. They ran back to tell Pinzon about the deer. The grandfather suggested that they eat lunch and return later to see if it needed help. Krause told ABC News that it was at about 12 p.m. on Wednesday when the twins and Pinzon's sister heard the loud cracking above them. "As soon as they heard that sound, they got pushed really hard from the side by him to the ground," the son-in-law told ABC News. He estimated that the tree limb that struck Pinzon weighed between 65 and 75 pounds, and that it fell from at least 60 feet. Krause added that Pinzon started bleeding from his head and nose. One of the twins called 911, and the other ran inside to get their grandmother. Following the instructions of the 911 operator, one of the granddaughters placed a rag on the back of Pinzon's head and worked to keep his head stable. However, he continued to bleed and cough up blood. Krause said his wife went to the hospital to be with her father, and the son-in-law went to the home to be with the children, saying they were "covered in blood and were in shock." Pinzon died just after arriving at the hospital. The son-in-law added that the twins will begin trauma counseling. Pinzon was "one of the biggest influences in their life, and having him gone like that was very traumatic,' he added. "At 4:30 [p.m.] on Wednesday, which is about 30 minutes after he passed, one of my daughters had texted him and said, 'You died for me,'" Krause told ABC News. "He marked everyone that came in contact with him. Everybody loved Manuel." He was a 'great person. I wish I could be half the person he was. He was amazing," Krause said. Pinzon, who was set to turn 78 early next month, leaves behind two daughters, five grandchildren, and his wife. They had been together for 50 years.
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Georgia grandfather sacrifices his life to save twin granddaughters from falling tree limb: ‘He was a hero'
A 77-year-old Georgia grandfather was killed by a falling tree limb as he saved the lives of his twin granddaughters while they were in their backyard. Manuel Pinzon died on Wednesday afternoon, according to WANF. Son-in-law Jason Krause told the outlet that Pinzon saved the eight-year-old twins by pushing them out of the way. 'He sacrificed his life to save my two twins from a tree,' he said. 'They got shoved out of the way. He got them out of the way, but took the full hit of a fallen limb on his head, and he didn't make it.' Twins Isabella and Gabi were out with Pinzon and his sister when the family heard a loud cracking sound. Just moments later, the grandfather was on the ground, injured. 'I told my sister to run to the front yard and to get some help,' Gabi told WANF. The grandfather is being remembered as a hero. 'He saved me,' Gabi said. Krause noted that the grandfather loved his family as well as the outdoors. The son-in-law described him as the greatest man he had ever known. 'For as sad as everybody is and for as much crying as everyone's done since, all I want to do is toast him,' Krause told WANF. 'And I want to celebrate him because he was a hero.' The incident took place at Pinzon's home in Dacula, Georgia, according to ABC News. The twins were exploring the forest behind the backyard when they found a baby deer. They ran back to tell Pinzon about the deer. The grandfather suggested that they eat lunch and return later to see if it needed help. Krause told ABC News that it was at about 12 p.m. on Wednesday when the twins and Pinzon's sister heard the loud cracking above them. "As soon as they heard that sound, they got pushed really hard from the side by him to the ground," the son-in-law told ABC News. He estimated that the tree limb that struck Pinzon weighed between 65 and 75 pounds, and that it fell from at least 60 feet. Krause added that Pinzon started bleeding from his head and nose. One of the twins called 911, and the other ran inside to get their grandmother. Following the instructions of the 911 operator, one of the granddaughters placed a rag on the back of Pinzon's head and worked to keep his head stable. However, he continued to bleed and cough up blood. Krause said his wife went to the hospital to be with her father, and the son-in-law went to the home to be with the children, saying they were "covered in blood and were in shock." Pinzon died just after arriving at the hospital. The son-in-law added that the twins will begin trauma counseling. Pinzon was "one of the biggest influences in their life, and having him gone like that was very traumatic,' he added. "At 4:30 [p.m.] on Wednesday, which is about 30 minutes after he passed, one of my daughters had texted him and said, 'You died for me,'" Krause told ABC News. "He marked everyone that came in contact with him. Everybody loved Manuel." He was a 'great person. I wish I could be half the person he was. He was amazing," Krause said. Pinzon, who was set to turn 78 early next month, leaves behind two daughters, five grandchildren, and his wife. They had been together for 50 years.
