Honor your hero with thoughts, memories, images and stories.
My uncle, my hero, Samuel O Rector, was killed when his ship went down during the Battle of Ormoc Bay in Leyte Gulf, Philippines. He was aboard the USS Cooper that was torpedoed by the Japanese ship Take. He is my hero for making such a huge sacrifice fighting for our freedoms. He left behind a wife and small daughter as well as many siblings. His brother Reuben W. Rector lost his life less than two months later at the Battle of the Bulge. My grandfather suffered greatly losing both of his sons during the war in a short period of time. I hope America appreciates the sacrifices that our military makes to keep them safe at night and for the sacrifice that people like my uncles had already made to make sure they lived in a free nation!