Heroes Among US: US Army Vet Cpl. Harry Kratochvil

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

SUNRISE (CBSMiami) - Every Friday, in partnership with the Florida Panthers, CBS4 puts the spotlight on a hero among us.

Men or women who have gone beyond the call of duty for our country.

Today, we're honoring U.S. Army veteran Corporal Harry Kratochvil.

Kratochvil said he remembers going to enlist and seeing a cut out of a paratrooper and saying to himself that is for me. So he joined the U.S. Army Airborne at the age of 17. While he was still in training, his entire division was deployed to Germany as front-line troops. He made 32 jumps over Germany during the conflict with a team he is very proud of.

"I was a machine gunner, I had an assistant. Most of the time we jump from planes. I am proud of all the guys and girls that were there and proud of myself for being there just about any job we were doing was a job to be proud of and especially being in the airborne," said Kratochvil.

Kratochvil was honored at a recent Florida Panthers game. He proudly stood before a packed house taking it all in as a packed filled arena saluted him for several minutes with a standing ovation.

On behalf of the Florida Panthers and CBS4 we would like to say thank you Corporal Kratochvil for your service.