His heroic status becomes at least suspect.
Wasn’t the label “hero” applied to him because he “served” in Afghanistan? We love and appreciate all our military but we don’t attach that label to someone just because they served, do we? No matter where!
If that’s the case my husband is a hero because he kept this country safe during the cold war by watching for the Russian Badgers and Bisons from that sought after deployment in Iceland - which makes him pretty old!! Truth be told, he told the Air Force to get him out of Los Angeles (and away from his mother) as fast as they could and they did!!