Debbie Schlussel: True Heroism on the New York Subway
Meet Wesley Autrey of Manhattan--a real-life Superman in the real-life Metropolis.
Yesterday, the 50-year-old Vietnam Veteran jumped onto the New York Subway tracks to keep a young man from getting run over. Cameron Hollopeter, 19, had a seizure and fell onto the tracks. While most would have screamed in desperation, Autrey did the unthinkable and heroic, risking his own life to save that of a stranger.
After trying to pull Hollopeter up from the tracks, Autrey quickly jumped onto the tracks pushing Hollopeter down into a drainage trough betewen the rails, and pinning both of them down. With this heroic move, Autrey saved Hollopeter from likely death from a quickly approaching train--just in the nick of time.
The train cars went over them with just two inches to spare. Subway drainage troughs, just under the train tracks are only 8 to 24 inches deep, with the trains just above.
Yes, real men are not gone from America. We just don't hear about them enough. Wesley Autrey, American Hero.
**** UPDATE: Reader Dave, a Vietnam Vet, noting Autrey's tremendous heroism, notices that media reports (mostly from AP) might be incorrectly reporting on Autrey's status as a Vietnam Vet (or, more likely, got his age wrong):
Ms Schlussel:Just read your piece on Mr Wesley Autrey, who is a real hero,
cannot deny that. But if he is 50, how can he be a Viet Nam vet
please? Born in 1957, ten years old in 1967, and twenty in 1977. All US troops out of SVN in 1973 except for advisors to ARVN and USMC guards at the Embassy, so he would have been only 16! Oops. Unless they got his age incorrect perhaps? Just wondering is
all
That's a good question. Perhaps reporters made it up. But two media accounts I saw (here and here) reported that Autrey is a Vietnam Vet. It appears AP originally reported he was a Vietnam Vet and then sent out later versions that omit that.
Regardless, either way, Wesley Autrey is a great American and a hero. No doubt about that.
**** UPDATE, 01/05/07: Turns out that the original AP report was correct, after all. Wesley is a proud U.S. Navy Veteran of Vietnam.
Posted by Debbie on January 3, 2007 11:49 AM to Debbie Schlussel