What makes a hero?

In Operation Summer Storm, Tate Maddox is my hero. Sure he's tall and easy on the eye, has a body to die for and can curl a girls toes at twenty paces- but it's who he is inside that makes him truly come alive... (so the muscles and uniform don't hinder the process at all, but still....)
Tate has his flaws.
He's a little on the dominating side- although his take charge attitude is more a habit of his military training...he's also guilty of letting his emotions rule his head from time to time- although this has only begun to happen since Summer Sheldon entered his life- Usually he's known for his remarkable level head and calm under pressure demeanor.
Okay- so maybe he doesn't have that many flaws-- he IS the hero after all... but it's more the who he is that makes up the hunk of manhood that is Tate 'Ox' Maddox.
Tate's the guy you always want watching your back. He's loyal, determined, has a strong sense of right and wrong and has laid his life on the line for both country and friendship more than once...did I mention the body to die for?....
Yes, a hero is usually handsome, tall and strong--in books and movies, but despite this-- A hero in real life comes in many shapes and forms. He's a man who can fight for what he believes in. A man who can love as hard as he fights and who will fight for those unable to defend themselves. He can be a father, a husband, a lover or a best friend. He can come in all shapes and sizes-- the hero, after all is what is within a person- not what's on the outside.
Do you remember the movie Shallow Hal? When the ability to see the person from the outside was taken away-- he was only able to see what was hidden inside- good and bad.
Okay so maybe in a book or a movie, we expect to see the handsome big, strong hero image-- lets face it we want escapism here right? But when we're not reading or watching a movie-- I think you'll find that hero's are truly all around us. We might just need to take off our Shallow Hal goggles and look a little deeper now and then.
But in the mean time- feel free to enjoy looking at Tate and I hope you find the inner goodness as enjoyable as the outer goodness!!!