True Life Hero

I like a great story with a great hero. And I like to write stories that have great heroes. In KILLER OF KILLERS, Trent Smith is the ultimate hero. He's the world's greatest martial artist, after all, and he fights for justice. But he's a ficticious character. And so what? There's a lot of ficticious characters that are great heroes. I've talked about them. James Bond, Captain Kirk, and Conan, to name my top three ficticious heroes. And more recently, I've enjoyed the stories of Frank Martin and Jason Bourne, too.

But there are heroes who really lived in real life, and were real heroes. And I have to admit, a true story has just a little more merit. Why? Well, because it's a true story. History is full of them. David, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Constantine, Charles Martel, George Washington, and Audie Murphy come to mind. These are men who fought in real battles in real wars, men who put their lives on the line, and made a difference. And many of them have had their stories told, either in books, or in movies.

But many of them haven't, and John Dunn is one of them. He was a real hero. He was known for his skill with a rifle as a hunter and a fighter. He was tall, muscular, daring, and courageous. You gotta figure living as the only white man amongst Zulu tribes has got to take some guts. He even calloused his feet instead of wearing shoes, like all Zulu warriors. And just to give a clue how special he was, he became the Zulu King Cetshwayo's best friend. I talked about how he was forced to fight on the side of the British, during the Anglo-Zulu War, but afterwards he saved Cetshwayo's life. How? When the British forces defeated the Zulus, the commanding British general was going to hang the Zulu king. But it was John Dunn who intervened by convincing the general that he couldn't execute Cetshwayo without a trial. The general couldn't deny the truth of it, so he sent Cetshwayo to England, where he became a celebrity. (And wasn't executed.)

Sadly, the two never saw each other again, and Cetshwayo never realized it was Dunn who saved his life, and he harbored a resentment for Dunn taking sides with the British. He had already forgiven him once for taking sides with his brother during the Zulu Civil War. Talk about angst. I already knew it was a great story. And I'm learning that there's even a lot more to it.