On this day in 1944, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born in Kentucky. Gary Littrell would one day find himself surrounded by 5,000 enemy soldiers, fighting for four days and nights in a desperate struggle for survival. Nor was he the only one. Nearly 500 men went into that battle. Only 42 would emerge. Littrell and his men had been asked to find enemy forces then harassing Special Forces in Kon Tum Province. He was one of four American advisers leading a South Vietn

On this day in 2007, a Navy SEAL is honored for his extraordinary courage. Lt. Michael P. Murphy had knowingly exposed himself to enemy fire, desperately trying to save his teammates. When he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, he was the first sailor to receive that honor since the Vietnam War. It’s been said that Murphy’s “death was cut from the same cloth as his life.” Indeed, the young Lieutenant had long been known as the “Protector” among his family and frie

On this day in 2008, America loses a World War II hero. Robert B. Nett once continued fighting despite being shot three times. He’d refused to abandon his men, even after his lung collapsed. His extraordinary courage earned him the Medal of Honor. Nett had been inspired by a family friend to join the military, originally joining the Connecticut National Guard in 1940. There was just one problem: He was then 17, but the minimum age was 18. Naturally, Nett didn’t let a litt

On this day in 1918, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. William “Wild Bill” Donovan had already earned the Distinguished Service Cross, and he would later earn the Distinguished Service Medal and the National Security Medal. The awards make Donovan the only person to receive all four of our nation’s highest honors. His Medal action came during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one of the final Allied campaigns during World War I. The mission facin

On this day in 1952, an American soldier fights his way through enemy fire to rescue his wounded comrades. Even after losing sight in one eye, he refuses to leave anyone behind. Ernest “Ernie” West would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. But when he learned he was getting the Medal, he initially refused it. Surprising? Maybe not to his friends and family. He was a “man who would talk more about his fishing adventures at Dale Hollow than recalling his her

On this day in 1918, a badly wounded American soldier charges an enemy machine-gun nest with an empty pistol. Somehow, he captures 30 enemy soldiers and four machine guns. His name was Patrick J. Regan, and he received a Medal of Honor—yet today, he’s almost entirely forgotten. Would you believe that a memorial field in Massachusetts even got mixed up about which war hero it was trying to honor several years ago?! Two Medal recipients share the name “Patrick Regan,” you s

On this day in 1945, President Harry Truman awards the Medal of Honor to a Marine and a veteran of the Battle of Peleliu. Arthur “Bull” Jackson had singlehandedly taken out 12 enemy positions in about 90 minutes! Unsurprisingly, he’s been labeled “nothing less than a one-man Marine Corps” for his actions. Many World War II battles in the Pacific were bloody and hard-fought—and Peleliu was no exception. Americans had hoped to take the island in a matter of days. Instead, the

On this day in 1917, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born in Hawaii. Yet when America entered World War II, the Army initially didn’t even trust Yeiki Kobashigawa to keep his rifle. Kobashigawa had been working on a sugar plantation when he was drafted into the Army late in 1941. Just a few short weeks later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That attack made life difficult for all Japanese Americans, of course, but it created special difficulties for those who were

On this day in 1999, a hero passes away. Medal of Honor recipient John R. Crews hadn’t wanted to talk about his experiences after World War II. “I didn’t care whether anyone knew,” he told a journalist from The Daily Oklahoman. “It was difficult to talk about. It just left such an emotional load.” He later changed his mind and began opening up. In the final years of his life, he made a point of attending Memorial Day ceremonies and other events honoring Medal recipients. He w

On this day in 1970, a Special Forces medic concludes a four-day mission. Then-Sergeant Gary Michael “Mike” Rose had saved the lives of dozens of soldiers during his long ordeal. Rose had been participating in Operation Tailwind, a secret mission into Laos during the Vietnam War. Even after Rose came home from war, he wouldn’t speak of it for decades. The mission began on September 11, when Marine helicopters inserted a combined force of Americans and Montagnards deep int

On this day in 1954, a soldier receives the Medal of Honor. Ola Lee Mize has been called “one of Alabama’s great fighting sons,” who fought “the greatest one-man battle of the Korean War.” Yet Mize nearly missed his chance to serve in the Army. At only 120 pounds, the son of Alabama sharecroppers was initially deemed too light to serve. Moreover, an old injury had left him virtually blind in one eye. He should have flunked the vision exam, but he tricked the examiner into te

On this day in 1950, a soldier begins an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Travis E. Watkins might have earned his Medal in the Korean War, but he was a World War II hero as well. He’d been at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked that base, and he went on to serve in the Pacific theater of the war. His service at Guadalcanal earned him a Bronze Star, but he seems to have known that his service in the Pacific wouldn’t be the end of it. Watkins returned home

On this day in 1967, Jimmy Stewart receives the Medal of Honor. No, not that Jimmy Stewart. True, both Stewarts served in the Army, but this soldier would go on to earn a Medal of Honor in Vietnam. Jimmy Goethel Stewart was born in West Virginia, but he was living in Ohio by the time he was a high school student. He enlisted in the Army after graduation and was soon dispatched to Germany. He met his future wife while overseas. The young couple had two boys together, but J

On this day in 1952, a Marine receives the Medal of Honor for an action described as a “desperate five-day defense of a frozen mountain pass.” William Barber had been right in the thick of it. Then-Captain Barber was a Marine who had already served in World War II, earning a Silver Star and a Purple Heart at Iwo Jima. “It was tough combat,” he shrugged, “but we were tough.” He would be called back to the front lines of Korea in late 1950. “We got to Hagaru probably the

On this day in 1922, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Sadao “Spud” Munemori would become the first Japanese American to be awarded the Medal. He’d joined the Army even before the United States entered World War II. Unfortunately, his service didn’t shield his widowed mother from the general suspicion surrounding Japanese Americans in those days. Instead, she was sent to an internment camp in the months after Pearl Harbor, as too many Japanese Americans were. Nev

On this day in 1916, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Some might have thought Ernest H. Dervishian an unlikely military hero. After all, he’d chosen law school over medical school because he’d been unable to stand the sight of “gruesome things” during a tour of the Medical College of Virginia. Nevertheless, Dervishian left his legal career behind and joined the U.S. Army during World War II. By May 1944, he was with Allied forces near Cisterna, Italy. They’d been bo

On this day in 1929, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Corporal Gordon Craig’s sacrifice would save four men, but it did far more than that. His sacrifice still lives on today in a way that the young soldier doubtless never envisioned. After Craig was awarded the Medal, leaders in his community made a memorial at his old high school. His portrait, Medal of Honor, and Purple Heart have been hanging near the school entrance for decades, inspiring future generations.

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

On this day 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 denounced t