[Six Nifty .50s]

I don't understand the purpose of equating courage with veracity. I won't comment on the pilots mentioned earlier, but Hans-Ulrich Rudel was referred to as a liar and overclaimer by members of his own unit. They called him out on truthfulness, but did not question his bravery.

The subculture of flyers, submarine captains, tank commanders, and other individuals who put great emphasis on personal glory and achievements actually invite others to investigate and challenge them. They bring it on themselves, even though it's natural that some of their readers will be suspicious of heroes and hero-worshippers. After all, very few infantrymen etched personal "kill markings" on their helmets or rifles, or kept score in a logbook. I'm not a psychiatrist, so I won't try to explain the detached manner in which some men painted billboard displays counting the machines they killed, with less regard for the number of dead bodies trapped inside the wreckage. More than a few people find that disturbing.

And no one has ever earned a free pass to avoid criticism just for being dead. Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler are not alive to defend themselves either, but I don't think we can dismiss all questions about their character because they have a military service record.