Letter: Status of hero is sometimes too easily awarded

Friday, June 18, 1999 | 10:08 a.m.

There are some of us who fought the war known as World War II who laugh in disgust when we hear some stories. We wonder why the act of heroism is so often denigrated.

George Bush's bio was recently on the Discovery Channel wherein the program made him to be a big hero as a Navy pilot.

He flew a three-man-crew bomber but they never said how many missions he flew.

Apparently on a given mission they were to bomb a Japanese-held island. On the way to the target they were hit by anti-aircraft fire and he bailed out.

The rest of his crew were never found and, according to him, never bailed out.

Within hours he was picked up and returned to his ship. For that action he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross! He didn't even drop his bombs.

If that was distinguished I know of thousands of others who earned the D.F.C. but only got the Purple Heart for wounds received. Could it have been that Ensign Bush was from a well-known family?

And then there were the three GIs who were captured in Albania and taken to Belgrade and used for propaganda by both the Serbs and Jesse Jackson.

When released they were returned to the states and treated as heroes rather than being sent back to their units. They were given keys to cities and parades.

One in Los Angeles threw out the first ball in a game at Dodger Stadium and was given a lifetime Dodger pass.

Look back at all the GIs who managed to survive starvation after the Bataan Death March and the POWs in Vietnam who spent 5 years. They are the ones who should have been honored for heroism and courage.

TED MADDOX