Herodotus mentions in his account of the battle of Plataea (479 B.C.) a Greek named Callicrates who was killed by an arrow just before the battle started (when the Greek leader was offering the sacrifices for the battle). As he was dying he said he did not mind dying for Greece--what bothered him was that he did not see any action.
The Ambassador apparently did see action, though, and was not prepared.
However, even Admiral Kimmel and General Short would likely have been honored at Pearl Harbor, had they been killed, even in their beds. That I grant you.