So he was. That generally means having logged off duty. In any case it is no more heroic than being killed in an air crash. We need to stop bastardizing the word hero. Now every member of the armed fores is an heroic this or that. That is absurd.
I agree with you. The hyperbolic nature of our language is watering down the meaning of words. "Amazing" is probably the most bastardized word known to mankind.