Latest news with #sacrifice
Yahoo
an hour 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
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My war hero brother died for his country... then petty bureaucrats branded him a nuisance
Kendall Rasmusson was just 23 years old when she was forced to watch her younger brother die in a Canadian hospital on May 15, 2008. On May 1, Sgt. John Kyle Daggett, a 21-year-old Airborne Army Ranger, was struck with a rocket propelled grenade while fighting in Baghdad, Iraq. This kicked off the most nightmarish two weeks of Rasmusson's life. By May 3, her family arrived in Halifax to be by Daggett's side. Rasmusson told that her brother 'was fighting so hard to heal and get better'. But ultimately, despite him being a strong, healthy young man, his injuries were just too severe, causing him fall into septic shock. 'As soon as he got septic, you could see his wounds were seeping, and then his kidney function went down,' she said. 'My mom was like, "he's not going to want to live like this," so she just let him pass away. And it was a lot. It was a lot.' Rasmusson had her hand on his chest as he slipped away, telling she 'literally felt his heart stop beating.' Ever since that day, she has had a new, more profound respect for the armed forces and the sacrifices they make on the battlefield. It also began her years-long tradition of putting up a magnetic banner on her garage door depicting Daggett in full uniform. She ran into no issues doing this until she moved to a community with an homeowner's association. Seventeen years after her brother's death, Rasmusson was told by her HOA that she needed to take down this harmless display remembering her brother. In their May 7 letter to her, as seen by they described the banner as a 'nuisance.' Since April 2017, Rasmusson and her three kids have lived in a single-family home in Surprise, Arizona, a suburban community northwest of Phoenix. The Desert Oasis HOA Board first told her to take the banner down in April 2018, classifying it as a holiday decoration that couldn't be left up year round. Rasmusson was fined numerous times for refusing to take it down, totaling to $200. She struck back by speaking to the local news and launching an online petition calling the HOA out. After the petition racked up thousands of signatures, the HOA board relented in January 2019, a little less than a year after it first sent her a violation notice. Ever since then, she has been allowed to display it continuously from the day Daggett died, May 15, up until July 14. This covered Memorial Day, Flag Day and Independence Day. She was also given permission to keep the banner up three days before and 10 days after Veteran's Day, Daggett's birthday and Patriot's Day. After getting this concession, Rasmusson never imagined that she'd again have to explain herself to this exacting HOA leadership. That all changed when the HOA got rid of its old management company in favor of Trestle Management Group in November 2024. Pictured: The letter that was sent to Rasmusson on May 7 instructing her to take down the banner of her brother because it qualified as a 'nuisance' under the HOA's rules These companies typically serve at the pleasure of HOA boards and are the ones to enforce the often draconian rules they impose on homeowners. On May 7, Trestle's Jennifer Jahn sent the Rasmusson family a letter telling them that the banner of Daggett violated an HOA regulation on property nuisances. The letter compared the display to dead plants, rubbish and debris. It was also deemed to be 'unsightly.' Again, Rasmusson felt she had no choice but to go to the local news, this time giving an interview with AZFamily. This prompted a torrent of backlash against the HOA board and Trestle on social media, so much so that the Trestle President Jim Baska sent out a letter to the entire community addressing the controversy. In it, Baska claimed he didn't know about the prior HOA management company allowing Rasmusson to put up the banner during certain times of the year. He also said his company's software for mistakenly categorizing the banner as a nuisance, an excuse that rang particularly hollow for Rasmusson. She said Baska's letter seeking to was a 'sorry excuse' for an apology and called it 'weak.' 'Regardless of how your software coded this, it literally says it's a nuisance and you sent it out anyway. Anyone with like a heart would be like, "this is a memorial decoration for her brother, and we're calling it a nuisance, and we're just going to be okay with sending that out and not think that she's going to be offended by that?"' She was also outraged that Trestle demanded she take down the banner in May, after it had been up for months without issue. 'And then also to send it out on May 7. It's the month of Memorial Day, like why May? Why did you wait to tell me?' she asked. Rasmusson pointed out that Trestle manages 310 communities and over 60,000 homes in the Phoenix area. The company also has more than 80 employees, which made her wonder why no one could have just called her, instead of sending her a 'heartless' letter. Eventually, Baska did call her on the phone and she said he tried to shift blame to the HOA board. She said Baska told her that the HOA board hired Trestle because the previous management company had become 'lackadaisical on handing out violation letters.' According to Rasmusson, Baska said the board told him to 'go overboard and ramp up sending out violations.' Those violations, of course, are paired with fines that the homeowners have to pay. 'The homeowners in our neighborhood are very upset,' Rasmusson said, explaining that people are being 'nitpicked' for things like their grass being slightly too high and having the wrong type of bench in their yard. 'It's getting wild.' Two days after Rasmusson got the letter calling her brother's banner a 'nuisance,' someone created a petition calling for the removal of HOA President C.C. Hunziker. The petition, which so far has 637 verified signatures, accuses Hunziker of abusing her power and misusing HOA funds. When reached out to Hunziker for comment, she said she was 'not interested' in giving a response. Rasmusson said she didn't want to be in the news or have to get into a brawl with her HOA over what she feels is a simple, inoffensive expression of her love for her late brother. 'I do not back down for anything, so I'm gonna keep fighting if I feel like I have the right to do so, or if I can work something out where I can have it up. And I'm glad that they agreed to it, but even if they hadn't, I would have still put it up,' she said. 'I pay my HOA dues every month on time, so they can just keep racking up the fees if they want to. I'm gonna put it up because I want to, and I like doing it. 'I am proud of him, and I want everybody to know that I radiate an overjoyment of pride for him, what we went through together as a family with his sacrifice and how much he meant to our family.' Rasmusson's initial motivation in putting up the banner was the anger and 'intense grief' she was feeling after losing Daggett in such a horrific way. 'The blast tore up his shoulder. His back, his shoulder and part of the back bicep area of his right arm looked like he got bit by a shark,' she said. After he was injured in Baghdad, Daggett was rushed to Germany, where doctors removed his right eye and the right frontal lobe of his brain. They also placed what's called an external vascular drain, which helps decrease cerebral spinal fluid that the brain produces. The intricate system of tubing relieves pressure those fluids exert on the brain. Too much pressure can cause brain damage, seizures, strokes or death. While Daggett was en route to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, the pressure on Daggett's brain dramatically worsened, forcing the plane transporting him to land in Halifax, Canada. Even though he didn't make it, Rasmusson counts herself as lucky that she got to see him before he died. 'A lot of people don't have that when they lose their soldier, they don't get to be with them and to help take care of them. And it meant so much to me,' she said. Her banner honoring Daggett often attracts veterans and ordinary citizens who thank her for her brother's service and want to get to know his story. 'It's just nice. It brings this military community together more. I think because all the men and women that serve, they all have people that they lost too,' she said. 'The military community is smaller than our entire community nationwide, and I feel like sometimes, a lot of their grief and loss and PTSD and their trauma that they went through while serving gets completely overlooked, ignored and forgotten,' she added. 'I'm a huge supporter of continuing to raise that awareness.' She continued: 'I think my biggest point was to just show everybody how proud I was of him, but then to also make a statement of our military families are here. We're all present. And it was just to recognize everybody and raise public awareness.' Rasmusson said Daggett's fellow soldiers 'looked up to him and looked to him for direction.' 'Even his higher ups and all the leaders were like, 'your brother was the spearhead of our unit,' she said. 'He was a leader. He took the younger guys under his wing. He taught them things. He worked with them. He had incredible patience with these guys, but he was funny and wild and such a goofball. Everybody loved him. It was just a big loss, so I hoped to display all of that in my sign.' Not only was Daggett considered a leader in his unit, he also did something practically no soldiers his age are capable of. He graduated the 62-day course to become a US Army Ranger at just age 20. 'That is insanely young for most Rangers. They're typically in their mid to late twenties,' she said. The Rangers, also known as the 75th Ranger Regiment, are an elite fighting force within the army frequently tasked with conducting dangerous special operations missions in enemy territory. 'I had other buddies of mine that were in the service with my brother,' she said. 'No matter how hard these men worked to get the standards met to even qualify for Ranger training, it took them years and years and years. And he did it at such a young age.' At his graduation from Ranger School on May 7, 2007, Daggett gave his sister the honor of pinning his Ranger tabs to his uniform. After his death, the army renamed the headquarters at Camp Taji after Daggett. Camp Taji was the military installation he was based at throughout his tour in Iraq. Daggett posthumously received the Bronze Star, a military decoration awarded to soldiers who have committed acts of heroism on the battlefield. He was also bestowed with a Purple Heart, a honor reserved for service members who have been wounded or killed in battle. And still, he inspires his older sister to keep fighting for what she believes in. 'I fight because you fought. I fight because you paid the ultimate sacrifice. I keep going,' Rasmusson said.
Yahoo
18 hours 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
18 hours 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.
Forbes
4 days ago
- General
- Forbes
Behind The Badge Shares The Harrowing And Heroic Lives Of First Responders
Imagine an America without first responders and ask yourself if that's a country in which you'd want to live? That is both the cautionary tale and the lament of Behind the Badge, Answering the Call to Serve on America's Homefront by Johnny Joey Jones. Jones is the insightful Fox News analyst and best-selling author of Unbroken Bonds of Battle, who lost his legs to an improvised explosive device while serving as a Marine bomb tech in Afghanistan. Sacrifice is personal for Jones, so is his desire to tell the stories of others who serve for causes greater than their own. In Behind the Badge, Jones chronicles the stories of firefighters, police officers, border patrol agents, game wardens, sheriffs and dispatchers who all deliver lifelines to those in need and protect us from the calamity and evil of modern society. The book is especially an antidote to the pendulum swing against law enforcement that began more than a decade ago with chants of defund the police. How America so often whiplashes from one sentiment to another—celebrating the remarkable heroism of the 9-11 responders to denigrating law enforcement across the country after isolated incendiary body cam clips—speaks to the ability of media and others to fan the flames of contempt. As A.D. Ryan famously wrote, 'It takes years to build trust, but only seconds to lose it.' Before we lose hope, however, Jones reminds us of the untold sacrifice that is inherent in those who serve. That is, one dash cam clip is not—or shouldn't be—enough to render a verdict in the court of public opinion on all who serve. Jones sees the world through the eyes of his chosen first responders, describing how the mere act of a police officer taking his family to dinner can be a trip down an unwanted memory lane, '…they drive through their battlefields: intersections where they have responded to terrible wrecks and worse.' Behind the Badge shares memorable stories of dramatic rescues, heart-wrenching losses and awe-inspiring acts of courage by first responders. Jones delves into how these men and women continue to go to work even though they are confronted with worst-case scenarios each day. In a world so often measured in likes and clicks, the fact that we still have individuals--and often entire families-- willing to serve against a backdrop of antagonism is a gift we must never take for granted. Behind the Badge is a reminder of how endearing that service should be to all of us. Jones shares the harrowing night his father lay listless on the floor in his home. Jones and his sister performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. They kept his father alive long enough for Jones to say goodbye the next day before his father passed. A few weeks later a fire department commander on duty the night of his father's collapse saw Jones and inquired how his father fared after taking him to the hospital. The fact that the commander showed genuine remorse for not being able to save his father left a lasting impression on Jones. 'How much of that kind of trauma can one man or woman carry?' he thought, for they deal with this kind of loss constantly. What he's really asking all of us to ponder is what kind of person makes heartbreak a career choice? Maybe the answer is too individual, too personal to know…but thank heaven they do. 'At some point, this job is going to hit home. Something is going to physically, spiritually, or emotionally break you,' says Clay Headrick, a firefighter Jones features in Behind. Headrick detailed an early call where a young child had been run over by a truck in front of his parents. The emotion of the hysterical parents and seeing the child in the road was too much for Headrick to bear in the moment. Nothing at the academy could have prepared him for the horror of the incident. The fact that he had small children of his own and the thought of something like this happening to them was simply overwhelming. That call nearly ended his career. Many first responders are fed a steady diet of grief and trauma, a reality of their chosen profession. It comes with sleepless nights, counseling sessions and, sadly, suicide and divorce rates that are far higher than the national average. Suffering in silence is never listed in job descriptions, but it is the norm for too many of them. Actors sometimes say they lose themselves in dark roles, the fear being that it's difficult to extract a soul when tempting Satan's grasp. For cops in our most dangerous cities, however, life isn't an act, it's the gritty reality that some communities are crumbling under failed leadership and the thin blue line is all that stands between them and the abyss. Behind the Badge gets at the heart of people who run into burning buildings when others run out. It chronicles a game warden's efforts to find the body of a missing girl in frigid waters and shows what it's like to live in someone's darkest hour. Throughout the book, Jones offers personal accounts and parenthetical thoughts on each of the profiled responders, people he has known for varying periods of time. The book recounts police officers who often witness the horrors of domestic abuse, familial homicides, rape and the like as they live on the front lines of good versus evil. They respond because no one else will--long after the angels have left. Sheriff Mark Lamb offers the realization that most people don't see a person, they see the uniform, a badge and a gun. Jones introduces us to those people behind the badge and reminds us that we better pray we never lose them.
