Pinned down in a deadly ambush in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, Specialist Salvatore Giunta refused to let his brothers die alone — and charged straight into enemy fire to bring one back.
When a massive Japanese fleet bore down on Taffy 3 off Samar, Commander Ernest Evans turned his tiny destroyer, USS Johnston, straight into the storm — and made naval history.
When a German tank burst through American lines near Bruyères, France, Staff Sergeant Clyde Choate didn’t retreat—he ran toward it, bazooka in hand, to stop it alone.
When the Japanese came in waves through the jungle of Guadalcanal, Sergeant John Basilone stood his ground behind twin machine guns—firing, fixing, and fighting until the barrels melted red.
In the black waters off the Philippines, Commander Richard O’Kane steered the USS Tang into the jaws of two convoys—fighting to the last torpedo, and to the last breath.
Alone in the sky and outnumbered ten to one, Commander David McCampbell turned the Philippine Sea into a shooting gallery—and never let a single bomber reach the fleet.
When a company of Germans demanded his surrender, Technical Sergeant Charles Coolidge just grinned, raised his carbine, and said, “Sorry, Mac — you’ve got the wrong guy.”
