Whenever people talk about "heroes," I am reminded of a television show I saw about 20 years ago. Bill Moyers had a series on PBS called "A World of Ideas." Now, Bill Moyers is pretty far out on one end of the political spectrum, but that isn't the important part of this story, so don't start thinking in political terms here.
Anyway, for the episode in question, Moyers interviewed the author Barbara Tuchman. She was a well-known historian in the U.S., noted particularly for her book "The Guns of August" about the events that led to the outbreak of World War I. By this point, she was quite elderly, and she died shortly after the show aired. She was defintiely a woman with a sort of early 20th century sensibility and demeanor.
Apparently, prior to the Moyers show, some organization had invited Tuchman to participate in a "Celebration of the American Hero" event somewhere. She talked about preparing her thoughts about sacrifice and service and such. When she arrived, she found that the "heroes" being celebrated were a small girl famous for having been rescued after falling down a well, the notorious "Mayflower Madam" Sidney Biddle Barrows, Superman, and some other similar characters. I'll never forget the disgust and contempt Barbara Tuchman used to describe her horrifying ordeal. I get a chuckle every time I think about that, even now. What I would give to have seen her as she began to realize what kind of "hero" event she'd been drawn into...