Day jobs: Retired Air National Guard pilot, golf pro
Achievement: Paying for the education of relatives of military personnel killed or disabled in action.
Why he's a hero: Flying from his Oklahoma home to a family-owned golf course in Michigan, Rooney was pained to see, on the tarmac, a family with the flag-draped coffin of a soldier killed in Iraq. The pilot-turned-golf-pro began raising money for survivors by asking golfers to chip in extra on greens fees. His Folds of Honor charity has funded over 2,600 scholarships for families of fallen soldiers.
Quote: "Giving dependents an education will help them for the rest of their lives."
Often young and required to move frequently, many military families struggle to maintain a two-income household, find affordable childcare and save for the future.
