A hero is not somebody who experience no fear in the face of mortal danger. People – at least normal people with all their marbles – cannot help but feel afraid when faced with a serious threat to life and limb. A hero is somebody who manages to act despite the fear, for the benefit of others. Following are forty fascinating things about some lesser-known American heroes, who deserve to be way more famous than they are.

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40. A Hero Receives His Belated Dues
On March 18th, 2014, a ceremony was held in the White House, during which President Obama awarded twenty-four long-overdue Medals of Honor to Jewish and Hispanic veterans. Each of them was a hero, but a hero who had been denied his due recognition by a military establishment that was dead set against bestowing the country’s highest honor on minorities.

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Conspicuous by his presence in the ceremony was rocker Lenny Kravitz. The music star, full name Leonard Albert Kravitz, was there as a family member of one of the honorees: his uncle and namesake, US Army Private First Class Leonard M. Kravitz. The hero’s uncle was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor for his service – and sacrifice – in the Korean War.