As most involved in military aviation know, for every hero who takes to the air there is another hero on the ground whose job it is to make sure those pilots come home safe and sound.Local resident John Bender is one of those heroes, as was recently discovered by his Amedisys Hospice nurse Melinda Beck. In fact, Bender was an aircraft mechanic for one of the most celebrated precision flying teams in the history of aviation, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Blue Angels. He served with the group from 1973-79, something Beck found amazing and felt should be recognized.Bender, whose health is failing due to respiratory problems, is now a resident of Raintree Manor and recalls those years as being some of the best of his 23 years in the Navy, which began when he was 18.