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

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

On this day in 1944, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. William “Pits” Pitsenbarger once tried to quit high school to join the Army. Instead, he finished high school, then joined the Air Force. He would go on to serve in Vietnam, completing hundreds of rescues as a pararescue medic. “He wanted to go where the action was,” his father would say. Airman 1st Class Pitsenbarger’s Medal action came on April 11, 1966. The day should have been relatively uneventful: It was

On this day in 1972, a pilot faces an impossible choice: One path offers his best hope of survival. The other gives a fellow serviceman a fighting chance to live. Naturally, Captain Steven Bennett chose to help his fellow man. Perhaps his family would have expected nothing less. “He was a fine young fella,” Bennett’s uncle would later reminisce, “who came from a modest family and came up from moderate means. He worked his way through school. . . . He was a first-class citiz

On this day in 1918, the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood continues. Gunnery Sergeant Fred Stockham was right in the thick of it, ultimately earning a Medal of Honor for his actions. His heroism revolved around a unique feature of the Great War: poisonous gases. Stockham was perhaps an unlikely hero. Orphaned when he was young, he was raised in foster care. Did his childhood leave him with an urge to rescue others? Or did he develop an urge to rush toward danger? Mayb

On this day in 1945, a cavalryman is awarded a Medal of Honor. Jack L. Knight’s bravery came in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, the so-called “Forgotten Theater” of the war. He is the only ground combat soldier to receive a Medal of Honor in that theater. Knight’s little brother, Bill, remembers the day that his three oldest brothers, including Jack, left to join the Texas National Guard. It was November 1940, and the boys did not think they would be gone f

On this day in 1944, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Lt. Col. Robert G. Cole was then serving as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Perhaps you know that division for its well-known nickname: the “Screaming Eagles.” Mere days before, on D-Day, Cole had been among those invading Normandy. In fact, his unit was making its first combat jump that day—and Cole had the honor of being the first to jump out of the lead plane. Unfo

On this day in 1923, a son is born to an Italian-American family in Waynesburg, Ohio. Joseph J. Cicchetti would go on to earn a Medal of Honor for his service during World War II. Cicchetti didn’t have to serve. He had a breathing problem that prevented him from meeting the Army’s physical standards. Some might have seized upon the excuse, but not Cicchetti. Instead, he underwent surgery to correct the nasal problem. Perhaps he was just that sort of a selfless young man.

On this day in 1948, a young boy is born in the small town of Interlachen, Florida. Robert H. Jenkins would go on to become a Marine and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. His self-sacrifice did not surprise his family. Not even one little bit. “That sweet, sweet child,” as his mother called him, was a devout Christian who’d carried his Bible to Vietnam. “He would do anything for anybody,” she concluded. “When we were in school,” his sister Ruby told The Tampa Tribune,

On this Memorial Day in 1948, a soldier is honored in a ceremony led by none other than General Omar Bradley. Edward G. Wilkin’s young son had received a Medal of Honor on his behalf two years earlier. Now he was also present as Wilkin’s remains were finally brought home. The younger Wilkin remembers the ceremony, “but what it really meant, what it represented,” he admitted. “I never really understood it until I got older of course.” He also remembers Bradley, who spoke t

On this day in 1945, a Seventh-Day Adventist engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. He was the only conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honor for his service during World War II. Doss, of course, objected to the term “conscientious objector,” right from the beginning. He preferred “conscientious cooperator” or “noncombatant.” After all, he intended to help the Army in any way that his religion allowed. He worked to get himself assigned as a me