“To be perfectly honest, if I had taken my gun to guard some folks that were expecting trouble, and trouble actually happened, I would not expect to be heralded as a hero. Guess it’s just me.”
And there you have the definition of the word. I doubt she expected to either.
As you said some of these words are bandied about so much that they lose their meaning.
But in becoming insensible to its over use we are in danger of not recognizing when it is deserved.
The odds were not is this woman’s favor. In fact, they were stacked heavily against her. A lot of people owe her their lives today. Of that there is no doubt.
“Real valor consists not in being insensible to danger, but in being prompt to confront and disarm it.” - Sir Walter Scott.
“Real valor consists not in being insensible to danger, but in being prompt to confront and disarm it.” - Sir Walter Scott.
Likewise, courage is not the lack of fear - it is action in spite of fear. Paraphrasing Sam in Once An Eagle. Great book.
Colonel, USAFR