TV Reviews : ‘Heroes’ Gets a Medal as Recruitment Tool

“Heroes,” airing tonight at 5 and 9 on the Arts & Entertainment cable channel, promises viewers that it will capture “the incredible life stories of some of the world’s most courageous individuals.” Only Western countries need apply--the men and one woman profiled were awarded either the U.S. Medal of Honor, Great Britain’s Victoria Cross or France’s Legion of Honor.

Produced by former ABC news executive Av Westin (“20/20”), the 26-part series kicks off with an overview episode, setting the stage for the profiles to come.

Judging from the show’s second episode--and first profile--on Brig. Gen. Patrick Brady, “Heroes” comes across as a skillful recruiting tool for the armed forces.

This can be expected from Brady, who was honored for action in Vietnam in 1968 and who is now the head of public affairs at the Pentagon, but Westin has to take the major part of the blame.

There’s no doubt about Brady’s courage. A helicopter pilot who specialized in flying in thick fog, he won his Medal of Honor for one horrendous day in Vietnam when he rescued 51 wounded soldiers in heavy combat zones. “Just a man doing his job,” he says, “in the right place at the right time.”

But Westin’s choices of footage--even the ones with bloody casualties--and the interviews and narration subtly glamorize the war. And Brady’s “right place” was a battlefield where thousands died over the years--a battlefield that still adversely affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of veterans and refugees today.

Other episodes will include veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and one Frenchman honored for his deeds during action in Algeria in the ‘60s.