Commentary: Airline Experience Begs Question, \’Who Are America\’s Heroes?\’

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 – The challenge issued by a flight attendant during a recent commercial air flight seemed innocuous enough: \”Name just one of the five Medal of Honor recipients from the current engagements in Afghanistan or Iraq, and get a free drink coupon.\”

But the passengers\’ response – more specifically, the inability of all but just one to respond – revealed how little the average American knows about its military heroes.

Bombarded by superhero lore almost from birth, many Americans grow to revere fictional heroes as well as sports and celebrity icons. But silence descended over the cabin of a flight bound from Jacksonville, Fla., to Baltimore when the conversation turned to those who had earned the nation\’s highest honor for valor – even when a free cocktail hung in the balance.