“Danny, Don’t Be a Hero”: A Lesson from the Daniel Penny Case

I recently bought a vehicle that came with a complimentary subscription to Sirius XM. While flipping through the channels one day a few months back, I came across a song I didn’t recognize. Thanks to the information provided by the radio display, I learned that the song was “Billy Don’t Be a Hero“ by a group called Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods.

To sum up, the song tells the story of a man named Billy, whose unnamed lover admonishes him not to be a hero or “a fool with your life” as he heads off to war. Instead, she pleads with him to come back to her. Billy, of course, does not heed this advice and ends up killed in action.

The song, released in 1974, struck me as a story about the Vietnam War. However, when I later looked up the lyrics, it wasn’t clear when—or even where—this story takes place, other than a mention of “Main Street.” The repeated references to “soldier blues” could refer to Civil War-era Union uniforms, but the phrase might also allude to something more modern, such as the U.S. Army’s “dress blues.” The fear of seeing one’s lover go off to war is timeless—any time, any place, any army, from any nation. And I think that’s part of what gives the song its broader, international appeal.

Interestingly, the song was written by British artists and first recorded and released in the UK before being picked up by a different group for an American audience. The chorus, shown below, captures the heart of the story:

Billy, don’t be a hero, don’t be a fool with your life
Billy, don’t be a hero, come back and make me your wife
And as he started to go she said, Billy, keep your head low
Billy, don’t be a hero, come back to me

My exposure to “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” coincided with the breaking news that Daniel Penny had been acquitted of murder charges in the death of a man named Jordan Neely.

Neely was a homeless drug addict with an extensive criminal history and mental health issues. Penny, a former U.S. Marine, was riding a subway car when Neely reportedly began threatening other passengers. Penny stepped in and subdued Neely with a chokehold. Along with help from others, he held Neely until police arrived. Neely later died—apparently due to a combination of physical and mental health issues, drugs he had consumed, and his altercation with Penny. Or, according to a different medical expert, the chokehold alone caused his death. There seems to be plenty of doubt to go around.

To be clear, Jordan Neely did not deserve to die over the crisis he was experiencing, even if much of it was of his own making. He was failed by a system that fails far too many people like him—of all races. But he did die. And although this seemed to be a clear case of self-defense, what mattered, in the court of public opinion, was that Neely was Black and Penny was white. That narrative led to outrage over an “unarmed Black man” killed by a white man. And so, Penny was charged with manslaughter.

It didn’t surprise me that a far-left city like New York would pursue charges in a case like this, especially with high-profile politicians like AOC calling it “murder.” Nor was I shocked that Penny was ultimately acquitted.

What did surprise me was that Daniel Penny chose to act like a hero in the first place.

I think most young people—especially young men—at some point in their lives aspire to be heroes, or at least to do heroic things. It’s in our cultural DNA, embedded even in the very first verse of our national anthem:

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Despite those words, we seem to have fewer and fewer heroes these days. I’m talking about real heroes—not sports figures, not the “stunning and brave” folks who invent new pronouns or rage against the system from their parents’ basements. Real heroes. The kind who genuinely risk themselves to save others.

The reason for the decline, I think, is largely due to what I’ll call the Penny Effect—a rational reaction to the publicity surrounding the Daniel Penny case. Why risk your life to do the right thing—to help others—if doing so might not only endanger your physical safety but also threaten your livelihood and reputation?

But what would America be without her heroes? What would it be like to live in a country where people like Todd Beamer and the others aboard Flight 93 didn’t take the heroic action they did on that terrible September day?

Todd, don’t be a hero, don’t take a chance with your life
Todd, don’t be a hero, go home safe to your wife
And as he started to go, she said don’t say “let’s roll”
Todd, don’t be a hero, turn your back to the scene

Contrary to those words—and despite what happened to Daniel Penny—America needs her heroes. After all, it’s hard to remain the “land of the free” if we’re not also the “home of the brave.”

Don’t be afraid to be a hero.

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Scott Faith is a veteran of a half-dozen combat deployments and has served in several different Special Operations units over the course of his Army career. Scott’s writing focuses largely on veterans’ issues, but he is also a big proponent of Constitutional rights and has a deep interest in politics. He often allows other veterans who request anonymity to publish their work under his byline. Scott welcomes story ideas and feedback on his articles and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.