On December 10, 2013, deep in the heart of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, Master Sergeant (at the time) Ivan Ruiz, an Air Force Pararescueman, was embedded with an Army Special Forces team and Afghan Commandos during a daring raid in hostile territory. After a close-quarters gunfight, Ruiz and two teammates became…
On August 6, 1950, during the early weeks of the Korean War, Second Lieutenant Chester Lenon of the 77th Engineer Combat Company, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division displayed extraordinary heroism while covering the withdrawal of a sister unit under intense enemy fire. Pinned down by a deadly combination of…
On August 6, 1950, during the early weeks of the Korean War, Second Lieutenant Chester Lenon of the 77th Engineer Combat Company, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division displayed extraordinary heroism while covering the withdrawal of a sister unit under intense enemy fire. Pinned down by a deadly combination of…
On October 23, 1944, Commander Richard O’Kane, commanding officer of the USS Tang, led one of the most daring submarine attacks of World War II. Taking his submarine into the heart of two heavily escorted Japanese convoys near the Taiwan Strait, CDR O’Kane launched a bold surface assault under intense…
On October 23, 1944, Commander Richard O’Kane, commanding officer of the USS Tang, led one of the most daring submarine attacks of World War II. Taking his submarine into the heart of two heavily escorted Japanese convoys near the Taiwan Strait, CDR O’Kane launched a bold surface assault under intense…
The Greatest Military Con in History? Operation Fortitude was the brilliant deception plan that fooled Hitler and protected the D-Day invasion, saving countless lives. In 1944, the Allies created a massive, non-existent army—complete with inflatable tanks, dummy aircraft, and even General George S. Patton as its fake commander—to convince the…
On November 1, 1950, during the Korean War, Captain Emil Kapaun was serving as a U.S. Army chaplain with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division when Chinese Communist forces launched a massive assault on American positions. As enemy fire tore through the lines, Captain Kapaun walked calmly…
On November 1, 1950, during the Korean War, Captain Emil Kapaun was serving as a U.S. Army chaplain with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division when Chinese Communist forces launched a massive assault on American positions. As enemy fire tore through the lines, Captain Kapaun walked calmly…
On September 17, 1950, during the Korean War, Marine Corps Private First Class Walter Monegan served as a rocket gunner with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, when enemy armor threatened to break through his battalion’s defensive line on the road to Seoul. Dug in on a…
On September 17, 1950, during the Korean War, Marine Corps Private First Class Walter Monegan served as a rocket gunner with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, when enemy armor threatened to break through his battalion’s defensive line on the road to Seoul. Dug in on a…
On May 24, 1969, in Vietnam, Staff Sergeant James Bondsteel served as a platoon sergeant with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division when his unit was sent to help a friendly force pinned down by intense fire from a North Vietnamese battalion dug into a heavily fortified…
On May 24, 1969, in Vietnam, Staff Sergeant James Bondsteel served as a platoon sergeant with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division when his unit was sent to help a friendly force pinned down by intense fire from a North Vietnamese battalion dug into a heavily fortified…
On October 28, 1951, First Lieutenant Lloyd Burke displayed exceptional courage during a brutal engagement in Korea. Although he had a plane ticket home and wasn’t required to fight, he chose to lead from the front. Single-handedly assaulting three enemy bunkers with grenades, an M1 rifle, and a pistol, Burke…
On October 28, 1951, First Lieutenant Lloyd Burke displayed exceptional courage during a brutal engagement in Korea. Although he had a plane ticket home and wasn’t required to fight, he chose to lead from the front. Single-handedly assaulting three enemy bunkers with grenades, an M1 rifle, and a pistol, Burke…
On February 19, 1945, during the brutal invasion of Iwo Jima, U.S. Marine Corporal Tony Stein was the first man from his unit to hit the beach. Armed with a custom-made machine gun he called “Stinger,” Stein unleashed accurate and relentless fire so his fellow Marines could advance under cover.…
On February 19, 1945, during the brutal invasion of Iwo Jima, U.S. Marine Corporal Tony Stein was the first man from his unit to hit the beach. Armed with a custom-made machine gun he called “Stinger,” Stein unleashed accurate and relentless fire so his fellow Marines could advance under cover.…
On October 31, 1972, in the final years of the Vietnam War, Navy SEAL Michael Thornton displayed extraordinary courage that would earn him the Medal of Honor—for saving the life of a fellow SEAL who had also received the Medal of Honor just months earlier. Then a Petty Officer, Thornton…
On October 31, 1972, in the final years of the Vietnam War, Navy SEAL Michael Thornton displayed extraordinary courage that would earn him the Medal of Honor—for saving the life of a fellow SEAL who had also received the Medal of Honor just months earlier. Then a Petty Officer, Thornton…
On August 3, 1944, during the battle to retake Guam in the Pacific Theater of World War II, Private First Class Frank Witek of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, faced a deadly ambush that could have annihilated his entire platoon. As enemy fire erupted from well-concealed Japanese…
On June 14, 1944, during the Italian Campaign of World War II, Staff Sergeant Homer Wise of the U.S. Army's 36th Infantry Division displayed a level of courage that changed the course of a deadly engagement. As his platoon was pinned down by relentless enemy fire and flanked on both…
On March 2, 1968, in Vietnam, Specialist Four Nicholas Cutinha was serving as a machine gunner with Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division when his unit was ambushed by a battalion-sized enemy force using small arms, mortars, RPGs, and automatic weapons. In the opening moments, chaos…
On April 6, 2013, deep in the Sono Valley of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Christopher Baradat, an Air Force combat controller, displayed extraordinary heroism while attached to a U.S. Special Forces quick reaction force. Their mission: relieve a coalition unit pinned down by over 100 heavily armed Taliban and…
On October 25, 1944, during the Battle off Samar, Commander Ernest E. Evans, commanding officer of the USS Johnston, led his destroyer into one of the most one-sided naval engagements in U.S. history and changed the course of the battle. Outnumbered and outgunned by a massive Japanese fleet, including battleships,…
Colonel Stanley Hughes stands alone in Marine Corps history—the only Marine awarded the Navy Cross in both World War II and the Vietnam War. On January 4, 1944, at Cape Gloucester, then–1st Lieutenant Stanley Hughes was leading a machine gun platoon with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division…