Most people who say how terrible war is have no idea how terrible it is. The Pentagon has given out millions of medals. It makes it seem as if heroism is commonplace in battle. It is not. This is as false a notion as is Brokaw's contention that my generation was any greater than any other.
Heroism is rare in war.
The only kind of bravery that should be rewarded and called heroism is an action one person takes in which he risks his own life in an attempt to save someone else's. It is apparent to me from what I have read that while Bob Kerrey may or may not have been brave or heroic, he was doing an impossibly difficult job for his country as well as he was able. Don't tell me Bob Kerrey disgraced himself in Vietnam. I got the Bronze Star for something I did on the outskirts of St. Lo, Normandy in 1944, shortly after D-Day. While I was pleased to get the citation, I've never said or written much about it.