SOME THOUGHTS ON HEROISM

I read William H. Prescott's classic work History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) maybe 20 years ago and I thought that Hernan Cortes and his fighters were heroic because of their enormous numerical and logistical disadavantages.  That doesn't mean that I condone the terrible suffering inflicted by the Spaniards on the native population because I am only taking a narrow, almost individual view of the events. On that level, I think I'm justified in calling the conquerors heroic and I believe my stance here is similar to the one former Pres. Reagan took on May 6, 1985, when he laid a wreath at the Bitburg military cemetary for German soldiers killed in WW II:

Reagan Joins Kohl in Brief Memorial at Bitburg Graves
By BERNARD WEINRAUB, Special to the New York Times
Published: May 6, 1985
BITBURG, West Germany, May 5 — President Reagan presided over a wreath-laying today at the base of a brick cemetery tower looming over the graves of nearly 2,000 German soldiers, including 49 SS troops.

The visit, which was made at the insistence of Mr. Kohl, was overwhelmingly opposed by both houses of Congress, Jewish organizations, veterans' groups and others.

As Mr. Reagan left Bonn this morning for Bergen-Belsen, officials disclosed that the President and Mr. Kohl would be joined at Bitburg by two prominent retired American and German military officers.

The two were Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, 90 years old, who led the 82d Airborne Division in Europe and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and Lieut. Gen. Johannes Steinhoff, 71, a World War II flying ace who later rose to the highest ranks of the West German Air Force. After the brief ceremony at the military cemetery, the two men shook hands.

I'm sure Pres. Reagan had no intention of honoring the SS soldiers, just as I am sure that the level of analysis is crucial when using the words "hero", "heroism" and "heroic." On an individual level, a German soldier could be correctly described as heroic without necessarily implying that the cause he fought for was just.

Using the same logic, back in the late 60s & early 70s, I thought it was wrong to denigrate Americans who had served in Vietnam. I disagree with Pres. Obama about calling the treatment of Vietnam Vets a "national shame" because the war itself was the real national shame.

There are additional issues that I glided past which makes determinations of heroism even more difficult. For example, I think we should distinguish between someone who was forced into service by the draft and someone who volunteered. We should also distinguish between victims, such as this incident:

WAR IN THE GULF: Scud Attack; Scud Missile Hits a U.S. Barracks, Killing 27
By R. W. APPLE Jr., Special to The New York Times
Published: February 26, 1991
In the most devastating Iraqi stroke of the Persian Gulf war, an Iraqi missile demolished a barracks housing more than 100 American troops on Monday night, killing 27 and wounding 98, the American military command in Riyadh said early today.

and real heroes, such as this man:

Modest Gulf War Hero Receives Silver Star : Military: A Navy corpsman from Camp Pendleton ran through a mortar barrage to aid wounded Marines.
March 22, 1992|H. G. REZA | LA TIMES STAFF WRITER

Navy corpsman Anthony Martin shakes his head in disbelief when talking about that day during the Persian Gulf War when he became a military hero.

Earlier this month, Maj. Gen. Mike Myatt, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, pinned on Martin's chest a Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry" for his actions 13 months ago during an Iraqi mortar barrage.

As 82-millimeter mortar rounds exploded around him, the Milwaukee, Wis., native repeatedly ran to the rescue of wounded Marines. He is the only Navy corpsman to be awarded the Silver Star for bravery in Operation Desert Storm.