I met then-U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills just before Memorial Day in 2012. Just six weeks earlier, the soldier had lost his arms and legs in a catastrophic improvised explosive device attack by terrorists in Afghanistan.

As I visited with Travis, then 25, his wife, Kelsey, and their precious baby girl, Chloe, I wondered how the young couple could cope with such devastation.  If this had happened to me, I thought, I would have given up on the operating table.

But as Kelsey told me before our visit and reinforced that day, giving up was never an option for the courageous couple. Travis’ fellow soldiers depended on his leadership on the battlefield, she explained, which is why he never thought twice about leading the combat patrol that led to the loss of four limbs. When Kelsey was confronted with the unimaginable reality of her husband’s injuries, coupled with the responsibility of raising a young daughter, she made a similar choice.

“I can either curl up in a ball and cry or keep going,” Kelsey told me in 2012. “I choose the latter.”

Almost three years later, I look forward to Kelsey’s Facebook updates about her family’s latest adventures. Travis is doing amazingly well, and Chloe is growing up in a happy, vibrant household. Earlier this month, Kelsey posted about a “date night” with Travis to see Unbroken. The title of the movie they saw was fitting.

Their progress has not been achieved without struggle or assistance from non-profit organizations, celebrities like Gary Sinise, or television personalities like Fox News’ Jenna Lee. But at the end of every day, whether Travis and Kelsey would push forward was ultimately up to them. As Kelsey said, they chose to keep going.

Travis is one of the world’s only survivors of a quadruple amputation resulting from battlefield wounds. Had he suffered the same injuries in World War II or even Vietnam, young Chloe would almost certainly be growing up without her dad. Through my countless “thank yous” to Travis at Walter Reed, the Michigan native continually expressed his gratitude to the medical professionals who saved his life.

Chloe, Kelsey & Travis Mills.

No matter how politicians label the struggle, America has been at war with terrorists since Sept. 11, 2001. After that terrible morning, countless men and women — military personnel, firefighters, police officers, first responders, federal agents, doctors, nurses, chaplains, and their families — volunteered to defend freedom. As a result, we are living among a generation’s worth of current and future leaders. Instead of focusing on what divides us, as so many politicians and members of the media do on a daily basis, we should celebrate these selfless patriots, while asking them to seize the mantle of America’s future.

Most politicians, journalists, and celebrities are not heroes. People like Travis and Kelsey Mills are.

Tom Sileo is a Senior Editor of The Stream. He is co-author of Brothers Forever: The Enduring Bond between a Marine and a Navy SEAL that Transcended their Ultimate Sacrifice.