As a native of Ecuador, a country with an amazing profusion of hummingbirds, or colibrís (135 species have been recorded in Ecuador, one of the largest number of species of hummingbirds in the world), I grew up admiring these precious little creatures for their beauty, delicateness and agility.
During a recent trip to Ecuador, I once again had the pleasure of watching these tiny, translucent birds buzz through the air in aerodynamically seemingly impossible ways — even flying backwards.
It is thus no surprise that an article mentioning hummingbirds — in addition to the word “hero” in the title — in an Air Force News Service press release immediately grabbed my attention.
While the article starts with the words, “Hummingbirds are some of the smallest, most delicate, beautiful creatures in the world. They are tiny little beings, and what they lack in size, with 10 beats per second, they make up for in heart,” it soon becomes clear that the author, Tech. Sgt. Mareshah Haynes, is writing about a very special “hummingbird,” a 21-year-old woman in the Air Force, a woman who was “a combination of strength and softness,” a woman who was called “Hummingbird” by her boyfriend.
Haynes writes about Senior Airman Ashton Goodman, a woman who loved animals and who — I am sure — would have adored hummingbirds.
Goodman was a vehicle operator dispatcher stationed at Pope Field, N.C. when she volunteered to go to Afghanistan as a member of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, where “she drove vehicles through the mountains to deliver humanitarian supplies to needy women. She also acted as a mentor to Afghan women to further their economic and social development.”
In May, 2009, less than 10 days after delivering much-needed food and supplies to more than 100 poor women in the Shutol district of Afghanistan and less than a month before her 22nd birthday, tragedy struck: the “Hummingbird” and two of her teammates were killed by an improvised explosive device near Bagram Airfield.
Read Airman Goodman’s touching story here and, as another Easter weekend comes to a close, hopefully celebrated with and among our loved ones, please pause a couple of minutes to think of heroes like this “Hummingbird” and her male brethren who continue to give it their all over there, in Afghanistan.
Lead photo by Dr. Claudia Krasnoff, St. Louis, MO.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.