Throughout American military history, there have been a treasure trove of remarkable tales of incredible courage displayed by individual soldiers. These stories are often overshadowed by the overall narratives of the battles that were fought and won, but it’s important for these men and women to never be forgotten.
These men and women we are about to cover, and in some cases, even gave their life for their country:
1 – Woody Williams (World War II)

Woody Williams was a dairy farmer from West Virginia who was taught how to use flamethrowers as a demolition sergeant. After taking part in the Battle of Guam in 1944, he participated in taking the black sand beaches of Iwo Jima in 1945. During the battle, the Japanese concrete pillboxes were impregnable against bazooka fires and grenades, and could only be taken out by flamethrower. Under heavy machine gun fire, Williams repeatedly charged forward against the pillboxes to eliminate the enemy inside. He later received the Medal of Honor award for his gallant actions.
2 – Audie Murphy (World War II)

Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated American soldiers of the Second World War. After getting into the army by falsifying his age, he participated in both the Italian and French campaigns against the German army. He single handedly held off an entire company of German soldiers and then later led a successfully counterattack while his weapon was out of ammunition. He was credited with killing over 240 German soldiers and received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and Silver Star for his actions.
3 – William Swenson (War on Terror)

Captain William Swenson received the Medal of Honor for his gallant actions on September 8th of 2009 in the village of Ganjgal in Afghanistan. When his unit came under vicious attack by more than 60 enemy fighters who demanded their full surrender, Swenson coordinated a successful defense between his team and the Afghan Border Police while simultaneously calling in artillery and aviation strikes to help suppress the enemy attack. On one occasion, he also exited his Humvee under heavy enemy fire to find four wounded American soldiers and help bring them to safety.
4 – John Clem (Civil War)

John Clem attempted to enlist in the U.S Army during the American Civil War but was denied because he was only nine years old. Nonetheless, he was permitted to serve as a mascot drummer boy for two years until he was allowed to enlist at the age of eleven. He was provided with a musket that was shortened so he could handle and fire the weapon, and he then participated in many engagements. He ended up serving in the United States army all the way until 1916; he was the last of the Civil War veterans to still be enlisted by the time World War I was raging.
5 – Walter Ehlers (World War II)

During the Normandy invasion of 1944, Walter Ehlers repeatedly spearheaded his unit to attack enemy mortar and machine gun positions while under a hail of incoming bullets. He also had a habit of deliberately exposing himself to the enemy to draw their fire away from the other soldiers who served alongside him. Despite being wounded more than once, he refused to be evacuated and always returned to his fellow soldiers once his wounds were healed. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
6 – Henry Knox (American Revolutionary War)

Henry Knox was a young bookseller who learned about military tactics not from the military but rather from reading books. He impressed General George Washington when he successfully transported heavy artillery pieces more than three hundred miles across heavy snow and ice using ox drawn sleds. The artillery pieces were then used against the British at Dorchester Heights and forced them to evacuate, resulting in a victory for the Americans. Knox later managed Washington’s famous successful crossing at the Delaware River and was also instrumental in the final American victory of the war at Yorktown.
7 – Roy Benavidez (Vietnam War)

Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez served with distinction during the Vietnam War in 1968. When an American and South Vietnamese patrol came under attack by more than 1,000 NVA soldiers, Benavidez jumped from a helicopter with only a knife and his medical supplies. He was attacked and wounded by a bayonet from an NVA combatant, but used his knife to kill the enemy soldier. He then recovered an AK-47 from a fallen enemy soldier and used it to take out two more NVA soldiers, and saved the lives of more than eight men. By the time the six hour engagement was over, Benavidez had sustained more than 37 bayonet, bullet, and shrapnel wounds, but he was alive. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
8 – John Stark (American Revolutionary War)

French and Indian War veteran John Stark was just an ordinary farmer from New Hampshire, but when he received news of the engagements of Lexington and Concord, he immediately rallied more than 400 men together and marched to Bunker Hill to fight the British. While the British ultimately won the battle, the actions of Stark and his men prevented them from encircling and annihilating the Americans. Thousands of American lives were saved and heavy losses were inflicted on the British ranks in the process.
9 – Mary Edwards Walker (Civil War)

Mary Edwards Walker holds the notable distinction of being the only woman who has ever won the Medal of Honor thus far, as well as only one of eight civilians. During the American Civil War, she worked tirelessly to treat wounded American soldiers and often crossed enemy lines to do so. She was eventually captured by Confederate forces and held as a prisoner, but was released as part of a prisoner exchange.
10 – Eugene Bullard (World War I)

Eugene Bullard was one of the first African-American military pilots, although he flew for France rather than the United States. This is because he enlisted as part of the French Foreign Legion, and took part in multiple land engagements against German forces. He decided to turn to aviation while covering from injuries sustained at the Battle of Verdun, and was credited with shooting down at least two German aircraft. He was awarded the Croix de guerre for his bravery.
11 – Anthony Wayne (Revolutionary War)

Anthony Wayne was a little-known Founding Father of the United States who also had a distinguished military career in the Revolution. He earned the nickname “Mad Anthony” when he and a force of men, armed only with bayonets, stormed the seemingly impenetrable Stony Point formations. In less than half an hour, they overwhelmed the British garrison and secured a key victory for General Washington.
12 – Frank Luke (World War I)

Frank Luke was a daring American World War I pilot who earned a reputation as America’s greatest ‘balloon buster.’ That was because Luke quickly proved his ability to down German reconnaissance balloons, which were often protected by machine gun fire and anti-aircraft guns. He also scored more than eighteen victories against enemy planes. Tragically, while on an unauthorized solo mission in which he destroyed three more balloons, Luke was hit multiple times by machine gun fire and forced to land his plane. He engaged German troops with his sidearm before succumbing to his wounds.
13 – Charles Whittlesey (World War I)

Major Charles Whittlesey was the founder of the 600-man ‘Lost Battalion’, which was an American unit that became trapped behind German lines in October of 1918. Despite being low on food and supplies, Whittlesey’s unit dug in and repelled wave after wave of attacks from numerically superior German forces. Less than two hundred men of the Lost Battalion survived, but they were eventually rescued by advancing American forces, and Whittlesey was noted for his ability to stay calm and direct his men carefully even while under heavy fire.
14 – Dan Daly (World War I)

The 44-year-old Dan Daly had already won the Medal of Honor twice (during the Boxer Rebellion and an engagement in Haiti) before he joined the fight in World War I. On the Western Front, Daly further distinguished himself by repeatedly launching suicidal charges against German positions that inspired his fellow soldiers to get up from their cover and attack with him. On one occasion, he charged a German machine gun nest and took fourteen prisoners, and then proceeded to calmly walk into No Man’s Land to rescue several wounded American soldiers while under heavy enemy fire.
15 – Ruby Bradley (World War II)

Colonel Ruby Bradley became one of the most decorated women in American military history. Taken prisoner during the Japanese conquest of the Philippines, Bradley suffered cruel treatment at the hands of her captors but nonetheless assisted in more than 230 major medical operations during her 3+ years in captivity, including delivering 13 babies. She and her fellow nurses were referred to as “Angels in Fatigues” by their fellow inmates. They were finally liberated by American forces as they retook the Philippines in early 1945.

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