HERO WORSHIP

What defines a military hero and who deserves a medal for heroic actions? Most of us would say we’re not sure—that it involves personal sacrifice and actions “above and beyond the call of duty”—though we know heroism when we see it. But it’s not always that simple.

Asked in an interview about his Medal of Honor award in 1945, legendary Marine Corps pilot Gregory “Pappy” Boyington said, “I felt that if the nation was going to honor me as a hero, I should honor the nation by acting like one” and noted that he had been famously quoted as saying, “Show me a hero and I’ll show you a bum.” The “Black Sheep” leader’s self-assessment may have been a bit harsh, but it spoke to a larger truth: Though we seek to place them on a pedestal, heroes are all too human.