Although he served his country, no doubt he is getting paid a lot more than I have ever been paid, and I don't recall being told that my job is heroic or that I'm "serving". And while dying a violent and torturous death is the ultimate price to pay, just being lynched is not heroic by itself. Did he voluntarily die to save others? Did he die while fighting and killing untold savage murderers? I'm just saying not everybody who dies is a hero. The knee jerk reaction to canonize this American as a hero does a disservice to those who do truly heroic deeds or live lives of heroic struggle. Now I'm not saying that he hasn't done those things, just that nobody has informed me what those things are. And while I'm sure there will be a full tribute given at this time of eulogy, we all will get that with very few exceptions and we're not all heroes.
You may be right but serving in foreign Embassy, especially in the Middle East is dangerous, and those serving there are aware of that. I don’t think his salary has anything to do with the subject. I might use the term hero too liberally but I feel the first responders at 911 that died were heroes not just the ones running into the building. Even though they were doing what they get paid for. I consider my relatives serving in the military heroes, as well as policeman and fireman. You did not state your job but I may even consider you a hero. Your criticism does give me pause for thought about overusing the term.