2023/2024
Collection 19

The Hero Who Did Not Want Recognition

1988; New Bern, North Carolina, USA

My great-granddad, whom we call “Pop-Pop,” is the most memorable man in my family’s history. He not only was a great person, but also was a hero. He was born on April 16, 1926, and when this story took place, he was sixty-one years old and lived in New Bern, North Carolina.

One wintry night in February, my great-grandparents had just gone to bed, along with most of the people on their street. In the house next to my great-grandparents lived a mom, a little boy about the age of four, and a little girl the age of seven. The mom of that family had been fixing dinner for herself and was just so exhausted that she forgot about the food she was cooking and fell asleep on the couch. Later she realized that the house was burning, with flames everywhere and smoke all through the house.

Luckily the little girl and her mom got out of the house, but the little boy was left inside.

The little girl was screaming and banging on my great-grandparents’ door. Suddenly my great-grandfather got up and grabbed his robe. He went to answer the door where the little girl was crying and screaming to help her little brother, who was still in the fire. My great-grandfather told his wife to call 911, and he went to help.

As my great-grandfather saw the great big fire and heard the embers popping, he went into the house to save the boy. He was crawling on his hands and knees, trying to find the boy. It was dark with no electricity, and the wood panels were burning and making his hands blister. At this point, he did not care; his focus was to save the boy. Finally, he found the boy lying in the hallway unconscious. He picked up the boy and ran out of the house. When they finally got outside, Pop-Pop performed CPR(1) on the little boy and revived him.

My great-grandfather not only saved a little boy, but also risked his own life saving him. He was awarded the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Bravery and Heroism by Governor James G. Martin. He was also awarded the Carnegie Medal for an outstanding act of heroism. This medal is given to people who have risked their lives or risked serious injury to save, or attempt to save, a person’s life.

My great-grandfather was known as Oliver Gray Wheeler, Jr. He changed this family’s life and was an amazing and unselfish person. This is a great example of someone being selfless and really caring about others.

Caroline Clark; North Carolina, USA

1. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a procedure that can save the life of a person whose heart and/or lungs are not working effectively or have stopped completely.

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