By now, Sgt. Kimberly Munley's selfless courage, superb skill at arms, and iron will* are well known, so I'm not going to go into detail about the battle she fought and won at Ft. Hood Thursday.
Nope--this is just a quick note (as quick as one of my notes gets, anyway) about a news report I saw today, that mentions how her lifesaving efforts may pay dividends well beyond the lives she saved during Thursday's chaos.
In the hours after the shootings, two Facebook groups sprung up dedicated to Munley and her heroic actions.Sgt. Munley has provided the inspiration to at least one woman to take responsibility for her own defense. My guess is that there are others, about whom we have not heard. Some day, that inspiration might lead them to save their own lives, and/or the lives of their children. Sgt. Munley is helping spread the message that guns are good news for women (some of you know who I'm talking to here ;-)). I note also that the inspired military wife in Japan will have to wait until she returns stateside. This, of course, is because of Japan's extremely draconian gun laws--which provide no guarantee against violent crime committed with guns.
"At that tragic moment you were able to use your training and abilities to bring an end to a day that will haunt the lives of many for years to come," one member posted in the group "God Bless SGT Kimberly Munley." "Thank you for being a true hero."
And in the group "Sgt. Kimberly Munley: A Real American Hero!," one woman stationed in Japan with her military husband said that Munley had inspired her to learn how to shoot once she returned to the U.S.
*I am, with effort, refraining from calling Sgt. Munley a hero, because the same article I cited above implies that she would not be comfortable with such a characterization:
Munley's grandmother, Monirie Metz, told ABC News that the former South Carolina surfer girl would probably object to being called a hero.I can't stop myself from pointing out that such an attitude is pretty much what I'd expect from a hero.
"Kim doesn't want be called a hero. She's worried about everyone else right now and is very concerned about her colleagues with whom she is very close," Metz said.
Stumble it!
5 comments:
Interesting how now we have two mass murder attempts stopped by an armed female. Colorado and now Ft. Hood.
Hollywood must have it wrong! I guess women don't just shoot once and throw the gun down.
Paul in Texas
Hollywood has it wrong?! Blasphemy! ;-).
Just a question about what I read earlier today, to the effect that officer Munley was not the one who actually brought down the shooter.
I saw something alluding to the idea that it was someone else who fired the final shot that actually ended the rampage, and that may be true.
In the end, though, I don't see that it would make much difference beyond spreading the heroism out a bit.
I saw something alluding to the idea that it was someone else who fired the final shot that actually ended the rampage, and that may be true.
In the end, though, I don't see that it would make much difference beyond spreading the heroism out a bit
How right you are, anyone who runs toward the sounds of the guns or into a burning building is a hero in my book, I didn't mean to disparage her heroism.
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