(CNN) -- "Moments like these, terrible as they are, don't show our weakness; they show our strength." These words were spoken by Suffolk County, Massachusetts, District Attorney Dan Conley after Monday's terror attack in Boston. A day later, signs of that strength are seen in the stories of people -- you might call them heroes -- who were near the Boston Marathon finish line when two bombs exploded seconds apart. Honoring a son Carlos Arredondo's story began nearly nine years ago, when he doused himself with gasoline and used a welder's torch to set his body on fire. Arredondo, a Costa Rican immigrant living in Florida, had just been told his 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in combat in Iraq.
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NEW: Wounded woman searches for her personal hero, Tyler
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NFL's Joe Andruzzi downplays carrying a victim to triage tent
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Carlos Arredondo, at the Boston Marathon to honor his late son, helped a man survive
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Dr. Vivek Shah was finishing the race; he and other medical professionals rushed to help
@placeholder could be called a hero even before Monday.