She DID make a real sacrifice for her country. She enlisted, she was sent to a faraway place with crappy weather and a substantial number of baddies. She performed her duties as ordered, as best as she could. It's not her fault she was in a crash, there is nothing dishonorable or even less-than-optimal about her performance. She was wounded, captured by the enemy(!), rescued, and then spent months recovering from her injuries. She doesn't deserve a Bronze Star for what she did, but she doesn't deserve scorn either. She is a hero, like all of the other soldiers who went to Iraq and did their duty there.