Bribed, bought, coerced, or extorted?

Related news article here.  Reuters' caption for this photo: 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (L) pins a bronze star medal onto Macedonian Staff Sgt. Stojance Patarovski during a ceremony at the Macedonian Ministry of Defense in Skopje, Macedonia, October 11, 2004. Rumsfeld presented three Macedonian troops with medals for their service in Iraq. Patarovski was cited for his actions on June 19, 2003 that prevented enemy reinforcement that saved American lives.

So if it's your American son or daughter whose life has been saved by this warrior — a warrior whose flag you almost surely wouldn't recognize, and whose country you may not even be able to point to on the map, but who likely grew up amidst the terror of government sponsored ethnic cleansing — would this be a "so-called, phony" hero?  After all, he's now wearing a medal just like the one for which John Kerry threw his corresponding service ribbon over the Capitol fence in 1971.  Does he look bought?  Is that medal a bribe? 

Or is it instead something that his wife will bring out of a cherished place show to their grandchildren someday?  Is it something that she'll explain was a sacred symbol of appreciation from the powerful country whose soldiers their granddaddy fought beside, whose very mortal sons and daughters he risked his life to save?  Will she explain how their granddaddy fought for civilization, against barbarism, and for the honor of their new country as it sought to take a place among the world's peaceful and responsible civilized nations?

We can but guess, of course.  Maybe at the moment this picture was snapped, Stojance Patarovski was thinking, "Wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time."  Maybe he was thinking, "I'm glad nobody asked me to be the last man to die for a mistake."  Maybe he was thinking, "Those guys who were shooting at me sure were a nuisance."

Or maybe he's thinking about his grandsons and granddaughters yet to be born, and what still must be done to build a world in which they can grow up safely.  What do you think?  If you think Sen. Kerry's right about this man, would you have the guts to tell Stojance Patarovski that to his face?

And how about this man:

Reuters' caption:

Captain Lim Ho-jin, a member of the South Korean Air Force to be sent to Iraq, meets his son during a send-off ceremony at the Seoul air base, October 11, 2004. About 150 members of the air force with C-130H transport planes will be deployed in Kuwait to help the reconstruction of Iraq.

What would you tell Captain Lim Ho-jin's son — that his daddy has been bribed, bought, coerced, or extorted?  Or that his daddy is a hero?