Soldiers go out and put their lives on the line to try and keep people safe. That doesn't sound like a hero to you?
There is no official death toll number for the war, especially for civilians. I would sure like to know where you got 654,000. I'm not saying that's not the number. It could be less, it could be more.

P.S. The American media, most of it (the news portion) is ON your side. They usually mention the worser parts of the war. I don't quite know what you're arguing for here..