“Why do I feel so uncomfortable about the word ‘hero?’” Hayes asked himself on Up with Chris Hayes. “I feel uncomfortable about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.”

Hayes’ remarks have unsurprisingly received criticism from conservative blogs, who feel The Nation’s Washington editor was being disrespectful to U.S. troops. Hayes however was cautious and stressed that he wasn’t intending to disrespect any soldier in the military.

“I don’t want to obviously desecrate or disrespect memory of anyone that’s fallen,” he said. “And obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers, and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I’m wrong about that.”

Update: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), a veterans group, told FoxNews.com that they are demanding that Hayes be removed from his position at MSNBC.

“Chris Hayes’ recent remarks on MSNBC regarding our fallen service members are reprehensible and disgusting,” VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer said. “His words reflect his obvious disregard for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price while defending our nation. His insipid statement is particularly callous because it comes at a time when our entire nation pauses to reflect and honor the memory of our nations’ fallen heroes.”