On this day in 2021, a hero passes away. Charles H. Coolidge had endured a four-day ordeal during World War II. It earned him the Medal of Honor, although he then barely even knew what the Medal was! He’d heard of it only because Sergeant Alvin York had grown up about 100 miles away from his hometown in Tennessee.   Coolidge’s heroism came as Allied forces worked their way across France late in the war. On October 24, 1944, he was with his platoon of machine-gunners. They’d b

On this day in 1984, a hero is born. Thomas Patrick Payne would go on to receive a Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Inherent Resolve near Hawija, Iraq.   The mission on October 22, 2015, was urgent. Hostages were being held by ISIS, and then-SFC Payne’s special operations task force was working with Kurdish Special Forces to attempt a rescue. Time was of the essence: Freshly dug graves had been spotted outside the prison compound where the hostages were being held.

On this day in 1945, a prisoner of war is liberated. But Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds wasn’t the only man freed that day. Because of his heroic actions, hundreds of other prisoners were liberated alongside him.   Do you remember this American hero, who received the Medal of Honor earlier this year?   Then-Master Sergeant Edmonds was among those serving with the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment at the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately, he was also among those cap

On this day in 1945, a Navy chaplain engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Father Joseph T. O'Callahan was then stationed aboard USS Franklin , an aircraft carrier working just off the coast of Japan. Franklin and others were working to neutralize the Japanese kamikaze threat before the invasion of Okinawa on April 1. Trouble came early on March 19 when a Japanese Judy dive bomber dropped out of the clouds, mere yards in front of Franklin . Two semi-ar