On this day in 1944, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Hulon “Rocky” Whittington is the only Medal recipient from the small lumbering town of Bogalusa, Louisiana. He’d volunteered for the Army, even before the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. He was soon serving with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Division. That division fought from North Africa to Sicily and Normandy, even earning a nickname: Hell on Wheels! Whittingt

On this day in 2013, one of America’s most highly decorated officers passes away at nearly 90 years old. George “Bud” Day served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He was a Marine, a soldier, and an Air Force pilot. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honor, awarded for his bravery as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. When Day was captured, he was a 42-year-old Air Force Major and the commander of a squadron of F-100s known as the Misty forward air contr

At about this time in 1940, a boy is born in Connecticut. Harvey “Barney” Barnum would one day find himself in the middle of a desperate Vietnam battle. His courage that day would ultimately earn him the Medal of Honor—but first, he had to become a Marine. Barnum might never have been a Marine at all but for an experience in high school. His school hosted a Marine recruiter during his senior year. Apparently, the students were so boisterous and rowdy that the recruiter deno

On this day in 1944, a pilot receives the Medal of Honor. But for Nathan Gordon, fifteen American airmen would have lost their lives in the churning waters of the Bismarck Sea during World War II—assuming they weren’t captured by the Japanese first. Gordon’s heroism came as American forces were attacking a Japanese supply base in New Ireland. Gordon’s job was to circle in his PBY Catalina seaplane, waiting for calls to help downed airmen. Gordon receives the Medal from Admi