Recognizing that true courage and fear are inseparable in no way diminishes our heroes. Indeed, it only makes what they do so much more amazing.

There are many different levels of fear and courage, of course. Millions of Americans do things every day they are afraid to do. There’s the child who admits he broke the window even though he fears punishment. There’s the performer who steps out on stage with his stomach in knots in fear of the audience. There’s the politician who tells the voters the truth, fearful it will cost him the election. All are courageous.

Most everyday acts of courage don’t involve fear of death. That’s what makes the courage displayed by the firefighters in Charleston, the police officer in pursuit, or warriors on the battlefield extraordinary. Doing your duty while fearing for your own life requires extraordinary courage and makes extraordinary heroes.

The instinct for survival is embedded in our genes. Our first reflex when confronted with mortal danger is to flee. Fear is a natural and healthy response to danger. It’s what kept our early ancestors from extinction. But to survive and prosper those same ancestors had to hunt dangerous animals for their meat and fur. To do that, they had to learn how to work as a team and to overcome their fear.

People don’t become firefighters, police officers, or warriors because they’re fearless. They must overcome some fear up front just to volunteer for these dangerous professions.  Nor do they necessarily expect to die. When they risk their lives in the line of duty, they’re afraid because they know how many people before them lost their lives performing the same courageous acts.

First responders and warriors understand and accept the risks inherent in their professions. They enjoy their work and the people they work with or they probably would do something else. They're people with an aptitude for their job. They serve a purpose larger than themselves. They don’t see themselves as heroes, just as ordinary people. And when they find themselves in harm’s way they do their duty because that’s what they’ve been trained to do. They rely on that training and their comrades to help them overcome their fear and get them through.

People who perform a courageous act believing it’s certain they will die perform the ultimate act of courage. There’s the soldier who throws his body on a grenade to save his buddies’ lives. There’s the person on a sinking ship that gives up a seat on the last lifeboat to save a child. The soldier who throws his body on a grenade has little time to think, but in that brief instant he overcomes his fear of death and sacrifices his life to save others. The person on the sinking ship has more time to weigh the consequences of his act. He, too, overcomes his fear and willingly gives up his life to save the child. Still, the essence of courage is the same.

All of us do courageous things in our lives. Some people do courageous things every day. Certain people do extraordinarily courageous things. Courageousness is part of being human. It’s the reason civilization exists. But it’s those extraordinary acts of courage that we single out for special recognition and for the highest awards for valor. We hold them up as examples to help us face our own personal encounters with fear. They are what legends are made of.

We mourn the Charleston firefighters, as we mourn all heroes who give their lives in service to the their community or country. We honor and remember them not because they died in a tragic fire but because of their extraordinary courage.