Across two hundred yards of open ground, enemy guns tracked him alone. Wounded and dying, he still fought on and urged his squad forward.
Pinned down by a hidden bunker, the squad could not move. One young paratrooper attacked it again and again until the enemy line was broken.
For four days under siege, he became the backbone of a shattered battalion. While shells fell and assaults closed in, he moved everywhere danger was greatest.
When enemy guns tore into the company advance and his platoon leader fell wounded, he attacked uphill into the fire. Alone and already wounded, he shattered the position and opened the road into the village.
Four American fighters rose to meet a force of 150 enemy aircraft. One Marine lieutenant tore into the bomber formation and shot down seven in a single flight.
Three machine guns stopped the platoon cold on Mount Belvedere. One technical sergeant went forward alone and tore the defense apart.
When the attack stalled under crushing fire, he stood up and charged. Tank top, open ground, enemy guns—it made no difference to him.
