In Duty, They Are Heroes

In “ ‘Just Doing Their Duty’ ” (Commentary, Feb. 3), Buzz Aldrin questioned whether the crew members of the Columbia were heroes. According to one definition, a hero is “one who shows great courage.” In Aldrin’s view, “A hero is someone who is faced with a decision, and the decision that is made is ultimately what makes that person into a hero.” The Columbia crew members showed great courage by getting on board the space shuttle. But long before that fateful moment, each one had to face a decision: whether or not to participate in space exploration by becoming an astronaut. In the end, the Columbia astronauts are heroes, however the term is defined.

Curtis Pierce

Los Angeles

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Aldrin, the Columbia astronauts and every astronaut who has trained for a mission is a hero. Yes, astronauts are “just doing their duty.” But they choose to take on that duty in the face of danger and hardship, without knowing if they will ever be assigned to a mission and reach space. That is the decision that every astronaut makes every day he or she stays in the program. It is easier to respond without thinking to a crisis than to train and work, year after year, to face a danger that can easily be avoided. One and all, they are heroes.

Mistie M. Joyce

Los Angeles

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Were the astronauts of the Columbia or the Challenger any more heroic than the astronauts of the first shuttle mission? No, they just had bad luck. The same goes for the brave firefighters at the World Trade Center. Neither they nor their leadership had any idea that the towers would crumble so soon. They were doing their duty.

What’s the harm in calling them heroes anyway? If we call victims heroes, then no one will recognize the difference when we use the term for real heroes.

Ilan Ramon perhaps stands out in having been particularly brave before going on the Columbia mission, but going up for the 107th space shuttle mission after 105 successful missions wasn’t one of his particularly brave moments. He had every expectation of coming home safely despite the possibility of failure. He was doing his duty.

The men and women of Columbia probably had a frightening few minutes of error messages, alarms and exponentially increasing vibrations leading to their deaths. There was nothing they or anyone could do. They had no decisions to make. They were doing their duty.

Michael Freed

Rancho Cascades