It may be true that heroes are made, not born. But it is a fact that many a hero has unmade himself.
Inhabitants of France, Belgium, England and the U. S., heaping glory, poetry and publicity upon 25-year-old Captain Charles Augustus Lindbergh, found him so natural and so tactful that they predicted he would never unmake his fame. Was not the same immortality predicted for 61-year-old Admiral George Dewey in 1898?
Dewey. Surely, it was a modest, a natural, a lovable, a well-pre-pared man who uttered the command : "You may fire when ready, Gridley." For seven days, the U. S. waited for authentic news of this man's victory. For 16 months, the U. S. waited for its idol to come home and receive in person his righteous adulation. Some say that his welcome was the beginning of the spectacle era in the U. S.a wood and plaster triumphal arch in Manhattan (reputed to be "a labor of love"), massed flag waving and horn blowing, loving cups, a sword of honor from President McKinley, so much handshaking that the idol's hand became painfully swollen.
Then Admiral Dewey began to make what the public called "mis-takes." When questioned about the home which popular subscription was building for him in Washington, he said that he wanted only a modest house with a small dining-room seating 18 persons. . . . At 62, he married and deeded the house to his wife. The public became as spiteful as a cast-off mistress. . . . The public was ready to jeer in 1900 when Admiral Dewey responded to pressure and naively announced that he was willing to run for President. Said he: "Since studying this subject, I am convinced that the office of the President is not such a very difficult one to fill. . . . Should I be chosen for this exalted position, I would execute the laws of Congress as faithfully as I have always executed the orders of my superiors. . . . I think I have said enough at this time, and possibly too much."
Admiral Dewey had not lost the modesty and sincerity of a hero; but the public had turned against him, had found him ridiculous. A typical newspaper headline cried: "Leaders Laugh at Poor Dewey." His boom died. He seldom appeared on front pages until his death. His wood and plaster triumphal arch rotted, was not replaced by marble as originally planned. Today, his Washington house is a dressmaking shop.
Lindbergh. It was a modest, a natural, a lovable, a well-prepared man whom Europe honored laet week, while the U. S. swelled with pride and prepared a homecoming. Unquestionably, Captain Lindbergh is a more stimulating hero than Admiral Dewey ever was. He conquered alone-with only his monoplane; he had no Gridley, no escorting fleet.
At Paris. President Gaston Dou-mergue pinned the cross of the Legion of Honor upon Captain Lindbergh, on the day of the modest remark: "It is much easier to fly from America to Europe than to fly from Europe to America."
The French Chamber of Deputies cheered with gusto when U. S. Ambassador Myron Timothy Herrick introduced Captain Lindbergh as "this new Ambassador of the United States, whom France has so warmly taken to her heart."*