Editorial: Captain Un-courageous shows value of heroism

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GIGLIO PORTO, ITALY - JANUARY 17: The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio, on January 17, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy. More than four thousand people were on board when the ship hit rocks last Friday. The official death toll is now six, with a further 16 people still missing. The rescue operation was temporarily suspended yesterday due to the ship moving as it slowly sinks further into the sea. (Photo by Laura Lezza/Getty Images) R:\Merlin\Getty_Photos\137245521.jpg

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:24AM

Heroes leap into the breach when tragedy strikes.

Consider the case of the valiant captain of the Titanic, Commodore Edward J. Smith, who ran his ship into an iceberg — bad move — but did his very best to save the lives of as many passengers as possible before going down with the ship.

Or consider Piero Calamai, the Italian captain of the Andrea Doria, the last person off his ship when it sank.

And now we have Capt. Francesco Schettino, skipper of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, who rammed his ship into a reef off a small Italian island on Friday.

Another inspiring hero?

Maybe not.

“Listen Schettino, there are people trapped on board,” an Italian Coast Guard captain, Gregorio De Falco, snapped over the radio to the ship’s captain, who had jumped ship long before many of his passengers. “You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear? I’m recording this conversation, Cmdr. Schettino.”

This does not bode well for Schettino’s career.

As John Maxtone-Graham, author of the book Titanic Tragedy: A New Look at the Lost Liner, told Salon: “That is truly unheard of. For a captain to bug out and go ashore is just not done and that is going to brand him forever. He will likely go to prison before he ever goes to sea again.”

If anybody demonstrated a touch of heroism, or at least a minimum awareness of what was dutiful and right, it was De Falco, although admittedly his life wasn’t on the line.

When something like this happens, we appreciate our real heroes all the more — many of them just everyday citizens.

There was the man, Stanley Lee, who fought two pit bulls to save another man’s life at Rainbow Beach Park earlier this month.

There was the off-duty Chicago firefighter, Bill Miller, who jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan to save a fisherman earlier this month.

There were the iron workers, salvage divers, wharf workers and others who, on July 24, 1915, rushed to the aid of victims in the overturned SS Eastland in the Chicago River.

There was Sister Mary Clare Therese Champagne, who could have saved herself when the horrific Our Lady of Angels fire struck on Dec. 1, 1958. But she chose to remain with her children until the end.

People do heroic stuff every day. No doubt.

But sometimes it takes a Capt. Schettino to remind us just how heroic they are.