• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 703 0

me. The cold north wind blew, and there came a great storm upon the sea, and we were parted. In the darkness there came up from the bottom of the sea one of the monsters that dwell there, and it seized me and dragged me down into the deep waters. The coat of mail which I wore protected me, and I stabbed the wretch with my sword. But a great multitude of other sea monsters set upon me while I was at the bottom of the sea. I stabbed them all with my sword. When it became morning, and the sun rose, they were all washed ashore by the waves, and lay dead upon the sands. My sword had put them to sleep. Never afterwards did they hinder the sailors on their course. Afterwards I continued my journey although I was wearied, and at length the waves cast me upon the land of the Finns. I never heard that thou didst deeds such as these, Hunferth, nor Breca either. Thou didst slay thy own brothers, I know, for which thou shalt suffer the vengeance of Heaven. Hadst thou been such a hero as thou vauntest thyself, Grendel would not have laid waste the hall of thy Lord. But I, a Geat, will soon show what a brave man can do, and all men will sit down cheerfully to the mead-benches in this hall when they hear that Grendel is dead.”

That night, Beowulf fulfills his promise; he fights Grendel and fatally wounds him. And he has proof to back up his words; having torn off Grendel’s arm in the midst of their combat, he hangs the monster’s severed limb from the rafters.

In the morning … it was told to Hrothgar what had taken place, and he went into the hall. He lifted up his eyes towards the high golden roof, and behold, as a trophy of the fight, there hung the arm of Grendel.

The King was glad, and he said to Beowulf, “Thou hast done a deed which all the might and wisdom of man was not able to accomplish. The mother who bore thee may well be proud of thee, Beowulf. Best of men, I love thee as my son. Ask what thou wilt of me, and I will give it. There is nothing I am not willing to give thee.”

Beowulf replied, “Willingly have I served thee in this matter, O King. Would that I had been able to hinder Grendel from going away! But the wretch will not live much longer. Pain will hold him in its deadly grasp until he dies in his den. It is the doom which the pure Creator has appointed for him on account of his crimes.”

All looked with wonder upon the hand of Grendel aloft upon the roof. The nails on the fingers were hard as steel. Hunferth, the son of Ecglaf, was silent as he gazed on that hand.

A Generation of Young Men

Who Did What Had to Be Done

FROM WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN:

UNTOLD STORIES FROM THE BAND OF BROTHERS, 2009

By Marcus Brotherton

The men of Easy Company were a highly elite group; they made it through the demanding training of Camp Toccoa, parachuted into Normandy for D-Day and Holland for Operation Market Garden, fought the Germans and the freezing cold in the Battle of the Bulge, liberated concentration camps, and secured the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountaintop retreat.

But these men never bragged about their service; some didn’t even tell their families about what they had done in the war. Men of honor don’t do the courageous thing for the accolades, but because it is the right thing to do, because it is their duty.

CLANCY LYALL

Today I often speak to students in schools. The number-one question I get asked is, “Did you kill anyone?” My answer is, “Yes, it was war, and I know I did. But there’s more to the story that you need to know.”

Were we heroes? There’s no such thing as a live hero. Damn good soldiers, yes, but heroes, no. You do your job and everybody does it with you.

EARL McCLUNG

Our heroes are over there where the white crosses are. We’re survivors over here. None of us are heroes. I don’t think you’ll talk to a man who says we are. You figure a hero is someone who does above and beyond the call of duty, and when you give your life that’s as above and beyond as you can get.

ED JOINT

People come up to you and say you’re a hero. I can’t claim to that. “I was just an ordinary soldier