Military Heroism: An Occupational Definition

Abstract

While most of us recognize the concept of heroism, an operational definition has remained elusive. The body of published literature on heroism likewise does not focus on the personal attributes that predispose an individual to heroic acts. In this study, a body of work not previously analyzed-citations of Medal of Honor awardees-was used to develop and rank dimensions of military heroism, following Flanagan's critical incident technique. These dimensions then compared definitions of heroism across conflicts. Essentially, three dimensions were derived and served as a basis for examining military heroism. As an initial effort, this study directs our thoughts to an operational definition of military heroism.