he·ro  -A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.

On fox news there was an interview with the pilot and 2 other crew of the spy plane where they were called "american heroes". The ass kissing even got so far as they were asking what actors the crew members would like to portray them if a movie is made about the incident. GIVE ME A F'ING BREAK!!!!

You want a hero? How about Carlos Hathcock. I don't mean merely for his sniping abilities, but for pulling to safety fellow marines from a burning half-track and getting severly burned in the process.

what about the 2 DELTA snipers, SGT Shugart and SGT Gordon who in somolia volunteered to rope down to a crashed black hawk to protect the crew?Finding their long rifles of limited use the engaded in a battle with their .45 1911's
after losing his team mate to rebel fire the other sniper picked up a M16 and gave it to the injured blackhawk pilot with the words 'good luck' shortly after the surviving DELTA operator was also killed.Both were posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.Presented to their families by president clinton,upon presenting it to one of the DELTA wives she told clinton to his face he was'nt fit to be Commander in Chief,unshaken he proceeded to sociliaze with other people. These to men are hero's.

In these times people are looking for anyone that may even come close to being a hero to see as a hero. Society has fallen so much, that now, a person like CH would probably not be seen as a hero. This does not change the fact that he was then, and is today for a lot of us.

While you and I may not consider the guy flying the P3 a hero, why not let the rest of the US think he is. I really think thats what the people need. Its certainly not going to lower the bar for hero status, thats already been done. Its good to feel good about your military and country every now and then. What the guy did may not have been by choice, but you gotta admit, he did a hell of a job getting that airframe back on the ground, and in the process saved 23 other people.

Aviator

Sigman, it sounds like the wife should be called a hero also.

Aviator, I agree 100%.

I'm sure Klinton only gave the medals to Shugart and Gordon's families because he had to- he has no love for soldiers, and he can't fathom the kind of personal sacrifice those two made for people they didn't even know.  I agree, calling that aircrew 'heroes' is a joke.  They got into a bad spot, they lived and got to come home.  Whoop-de-doo.  I'm happy for them and their families that they made it, but there was nothing heroic about it.

Sigman, if im not mistaken it was Randy Shughart´s father who said it to Slick Willie.

Modern society confuses heroes with survivors.  Genuine heroism is probably history - the Me generation has no thought of self-sacrifice.

Might be wrong thought it was a wife,will look it up ,originally read in a gun mag{SOF maybe?} that did a right up on it


lotta typo's in  my  first message

No matter how much of a hero you may think Hathcock or Shugart or Gordon is, someone who knew them thinks they were a complete jackass.

When Earnhardt got killed, people were asking why he was called a hero, and going on about no one being able to name some recently dead soldiers.

Now you've got some soldiers who managed NOT to get themselves killed, and you're asking why they're being called heroes.

Well the pilots managed to land a crippled plane without getting their crew killed. The crew destroyed a bunch of sensitive equipment so the chinese couldn't get their hands on it. They were Americans doing thier part to defend America's interests. Some people might consider their actions heroic.

You can find fault with any "hero". Nobody has gone through life without doing something wrong.

When someone admires a person as a "hero", they admire the good things a person did. If heroes have to be perfect, then there are no real heroes.

The commies probably already had every piece of equipment on that plane before this ever happened, the crew DID risk their lives I'd say by not parachuting and sticking around to destroy the data.