Unlikely Heroes...

The Story Of Balto And Other Forgotten Heroes

Who was and is Balto? This is a question that first caught my interest back in 1995 upon the release of the MCA/Universal animated movie, "Balto". It was this movie that would lead me on a quest of my own for the truth and the legend surrounding some of the most unlikely and all too often forgotten heros of Nome.

This movie caught my attention at first because it was a story involving wolves (my favorite animal). One afternoon at the book store I came across a movie story book- that is, a book made as a tie-in with a movie. It was a simple little children's book but it opened the mind of an 11-year-old to the possiblity that not all heroes come of the two-legged varity.

I tried in vain to see this movie. I looked in local papers for listings of it at local theathers but by the time I had discovered it's existance, the movie had been quietly shoved under the rug and out of major theaters. I then tried to see it at another theater in town that shows films that are out of the main-stream theaters. I missed it's one night showing by one night. Months past...Finally, it came out on video and I got my first full view of that which I had sought after for so long. I wasn't disappointed. The movie was better than I ever could have hoped for.

I got to see "Balto" during a time in my life when I had been playing the under-dog for quite some time. I thought this time was coming to an end. Little did I know it was just beginning (I'll get more into my personal connection to "Balto" as time goes on).

Needless to say, the character of Balto has become one of my heros. The movie itself is one of, I'm very sad to say, only a few good things to come out of Hollywood. I have championed this movie ever since it came out and I hope everyone at some point gets to see it. "Balto" is a powerful and heart-felt movie that is not just for little kids but adults as well. Its message is one we need to hear and take to heart- that discrimination is poison and that hate is wrong. We can not judge people by how they look or by the rumors we hear about them. To do so is to only further pollute our troubled world and inflict pain needlessly upon the innocent.

The true story of Balto is not any less important than its movie counter-part. It shows that there is good left in the world and that in times of crisis true heros emerge from the most unlikely places.

This page is here to tell the true story of the sled dog known as Balto and show graditude to a movie that has left it's mark on my life forever. It is also here to tell the story of true heroes in general and what it is to be a hero.

The True Hero

By Erin McDuff

A true hero cannot be judged by strength of body

Or by strength of mind

A true hero cannot be recognized in times of peace and harmony

For a true hero can only be judged by their strength of character and of heart

And only a trial by fire can reveal that power

And sometimes it is only after a true hero's death

That a true hero's worth is seen

Never forget the humble heros who have supported you thus far

And whose gentle hand

And comforting arms

Will continue to guide you

Crossing the barriers of time and space

And even the barrier of the grave

Guarding you from life's harms

For love knows no end

So neither do heroes

For what is heroism

But love in it's purest form?

This poem is respectfully dedicated to all those who have given their lives so that others might live. May your efforts to show the world love have not been in vain.

"Thank you, Balto. I would have been lost without you."~Rosy in "Balto"