On September 26th, 1983, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Defence Air Forces was in charge of observing the satellite early-warning systems at Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow. When the computer malfunctioned, erroneously signaling a nuclear missile launch from the U.S., this man went against Soviet military protocol and did not retaliate, preventing thus the outburst of the 3rd World War – which, if we consider the number of nukes each side had, would have been a very short war indeed.
His commanders repaid him by sending him into early retirement, on a meager military pension. His act remained unknown until 1998, when a book written by one of the officers present at the bunker that night recalled how the actions of this man prevented a catastrophic confrontation between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
This is what a true hero looks like.
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Update: His heroism was eventually recognized, and in 2004 he was awarded world citizenship – along with a substantial prize – by the Association of World Citizens, a San-Francisco based organization.