Military Heroes - He would go on to serve in two different armor battalions throughout his two years of service and during that time was also deployed to Germany. Upon his return to the U.S., he would serve four more years in the Army Reserve before being officially discharged – and in the meantime, continued to star in movies and create iconic music that he is still known for today.
Her performances in the now-famous USO Camp Shows involved singing, dancing and a comedy routine with a musical saw, and she usually left Allied troops in fits of laughter. These moments of levity were crucial to boosting morale and keeping spirits high among American troops fighting a dangerous and grueling war, giving them a brief respite so that they could be ready to carry out the mission at hand.
Military Heroes
Since the United States military was established, many women have accomplished unimaginable feats of courage and fortitude that have distinguished them within the ranks, ranging from saving lives as battlefield nurses to defending fellow soldiers in armed combat.
Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester
The eight women highlighted below were able to not only achieve success within their respective branches of the military but they also positively impacted the U.S. military as a whole. A Winslow native, Jay Vargas was serving as a captain in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War when he led his platoon to help others under fire.
He was wounded three times while leading troops in this battle and remained at the front. When his battalion commander was hit, Vargas carried the man to safety while continuing to defend the battalion. Vargas requested that his recently deceased mother's name be engraved on his Medal of Honor instead of his own name.
In March 2007, Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester and her National Guard unit were escorting a supply convoy through enemy territory in Iraq when insurgents launched a surprise attack. Hester used her seven years' worth of military training and experience to lead her team through the kill zone and into a more advantageous flanking position, giving her unit the upper hand against the insurgents.
Following this event, Hester was awarded the Silver Star medal, making her the first female soldier to receive this honor since World War II. Established in 1819, Norwich University is a nationally recognized institution of higher education, the birthplace of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), and the first private military college in the United States.
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Through its online programs, Norwich delivers relevant and applicable curricula that allow its students to make a positive impact on their places of work and their communities. Lt. Col. Leo Thorsness of Walnut Grove saw much of Vietnam from above.
The pilot of an F-105, he kept an eye on another crew who had to bail out of their plane during a fight in 1967 while continuing to attack enemy aircraft to keep them safe. He later spent six years as a prisoner of war.
Thorsness received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the air. One year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine and U.S. troops quickly responded, deploying to Eastern Europe in support of our allies. The USO went right alongside them, but we couldn't have done it without your help.
Here are 12 moments of military support in Eastern Europe, made possible by our generous supporters. During the Revolutionary War, women were not allowed to serve in the Army, but some found a way around the rules.
Moments You Supported Us Troops Deployed To Eastern Europe In The Year Since Russia Invaded Ukraine
One of the most famous was Deborah Sampson of Plympton, who served in the Continental Army from 1781 to 1783 while disguising herself as a man. She served as part of the Light Infantry Troops, taking on risky missions.
Wounded in the thigh, she removed the bullet herself so a doctor would not discover her gender and prevent her from continuing to serve. In 1837, a congressional committee considering her husband's application for a military widower's pension could find "no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity and courage" from that war on the level of Sampson.
Stewart initially served as a flight instructor. However, concerned that his celebrity status would hold him back from truly serving, the actor appealed directly to his superiors and was eventually deployed to England, where he served as the commanding officer of the 703d Bomb Squadron.
He would later transfer to the 453rd Bombardment Group and flew a total of 20 dangerous combat missions in the B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft; for his actions, he was awarded two Distinguished Flying Cross medals and the French honor of the Croix de Guerre.
Lieutenant Reba Whittle
While attacking a machine gun post near Varennes, France, in World War I, Cpl. Donald Call's tank took a direct hit from a high-explosive shell. As gas from the explosion filled the tank's interior, Call got out and took cover nearby.
When he realized the officer who had been with him in the tank did not follow, he returned to the tank, rescued the officer, and carried him a mile to safety while avoiding sniper fire. The New York City native received the Medal of Honor.
Almost every branch of the military offered Presley so-called "cushy jobs" that would have allowed him to simply serve as a recruiting model, or play music for the troops. However, Presley insisted on enlisting as a regular soldier.
Freeman joined the Air Force in 1955 with the hopes of becoming a fighter pilot, but instead served as a radar technician. The actor served for four years before deciding to change course and pursue his acting career.
Lieutenant General Patricia Horoho
Master Sgt. Raul Perez “Roy” Benavidez had 16 years of military experience behind him when he jumped from a helicopter into heavy fire to help extract a Special Forces team in Vietnam. Although Benavidez sustained several wounds, he managed to take charge of the situation to get the survivors to an evacuation helicopter.
For saving at least eight men and the classified information they carried, Benavidez received the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Navy named a ship after him in 1999. On September 27, 1944, Reba Whittle, an air nurse, was aboard a C-47 medical evacuation plane that was shot down over German territory, leaving her and her fellow survivors to be captured and interned by German soldiers.
As a result, Whittle became the only American female prisoner of war in Europe during World War II, although not granted formal status as such. During her internment, she was allowed to provide critical medical care to patients at a number of POW hospitals throughout the region.
The State Department was eventually notified of her circumstances by International Red Cross workers, and her release was negotiated. Once she was back home, Reba Whittle received the Purple Heart for the injuries she sustained during the 1944 crash and an Air Medal for her service as an air nurse.
Marlene Dietrich Oss Spy And Uso Entertainer
Soldiers often encounter physically traumatic events, and military nurses, like Patricia Horoho, are at the forefront of offering aid to casualties of war. As a career military nurse. Horohoo went on to become the first nurse and first woman to ever be nominated and confirmed as Army Surgeon General in December 2011. As a foundation for her career as a military nurse, Horoho earned a bachelor's degree in nursing and two master's degrees, one in
clinical trauma nursing and one in national resource strategy. With this educational experience under her belt, Horoho was able to participate at every level of army medicine, providing innovative, precision health care to soldiers suffering from a variety of ailments.
Arthur joined many other American women who were inspired to serve in the military during World War II, and joined the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve in 1943, just two months shy of her 21st birthday.
Riggle recalled in a Task & Purpose interview that some of his most rewarding moments as a Marine included working in the "Bucket Brigades" at ground zero immediately following the 9/11 attacks, in which a line of volunteers passed five-gallon buckets full of
Cathay Williams
debris down a line to investigators, who sifted through the debris in search of evidence and human remains. He also recalled helping evacuate and secure the American embassy in Liberia, assisting Albanian refugees, enforcing peace in Kosovo and being a part of the liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban rule.
When his unarmed helicopter flew into a hostile area of Vietnam in 1967, Duane D. Hackney of Flint, a pararescueman, volunteered to go into the jungle to find a downed soldier. As they loaded the rescued man onto the helicopter, Hackney gave the man his own parachute.
Just as Hackney located another, enemies fired at the helicopter, and Hackney was blown out the door. He managed to open the replacement parachute and survived to receive the Air Force Cross. A Marine staff sergeant in Korea, William Shuck took charge of a rifle squad during an assault on a heavily fortified enemy position.
Although seriously wounded himself, he continued to lead the attack until all the dead and wounded had been evacuated. A sniper killed Shuck as he helped to move the last casualty. The Cumberland native received a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Clark Gable Capturing World War Ii Aerial Combat On Film
Before being nominated to become the Army's Surgeon General, Horoho received several honors, such as being recognized as a Nurse Hero after administering first aid to 75 individuals following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She also quickly advanced through many esteemed positions, which allowed her to perform tasks like overseeing military care facilities and assisting in the creation of federal health care management policies at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
As Surgeon General, Horoho fully integrated public health, medical care, dental care, and warrior care into one overarching approach, allowing army medicine to offer more effective treatment and care options for soldiers. As World War II veteran William Carpenter once said, "You show me a man who says he was brave [during World War II], and I'll show you a liar. Every one of us was afraid. Even the Germans were afraid.
" You might recognize the ceremony where President Lyndon Johnson awarded Dayton's Sammy L. Davis the Medal of Honor—it's in the movie "Forrest Gump" with Tom Hanks' head superimposed over Davis. The Army private was serving in Vietnam, fighting under heavy fire, when he realized there were three wounded servicemen stranded across a river.
Although he could not swim, Pfc. Davis sailed an air mattress across to rescue the three while still dodging mortar fire. Davis was later promoted to sergeant. Second Lt. Erwin Bleckley of Wichita was flying as an observer as part of the 50th Aero Squadron in October 1918 when he received the mission to search for The Lost Battalion.
Maria Urso
He and pilot 2nd Lt. Harold Goettler dropped crucial supplies to the battalion before being shot down by enemy fire and killed. Bleckley is one of only four airmen to have received the Medal of Honor during World War I.
You might know Chuck Yeager as a test pilot from the movie “The Right Stuff.” The Myra native earned a Bronze Star for a daring escape after being shot down flying over France in 1944. He eluded capture for more than three weeks.
Yeager turned up in Spain after 25 days, having also helped another injured airman on his way there. He later became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. In 1951, Pfc. Herbert Kailieha Pililaau left his hometown of Waianae after being drafted into the Army to serve in Korea.
During the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge, Pililaau's squad covered for retreating troops. With his ammunition and grenades all used up, Pililaau threw rocks at the enemy soldiers rather than surrender. When troops retook the hill and recovered Pililaau's body, they discovered he'd taken out 40 enemy soldiers by himself.
Over Years Of Service The History Of Women In The Us Military
Pililaau received a posthumous Medal of Honor and the Navy named a ship for him in 2000. Pfc. Donald Ruhl, a Marine from Columbus, fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor after braving gunfire and mortars to rescue a wounded soldier, carrying him out of the line of fire and 300 yards to an aid station.
He died shielding fellow Marines from a grenade. A cemetery in Wyoming is named for him. After WWII, even as he resumed his acting career, Stewart continued to serve in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, even deploying to Vietnam, and would retire at the rank of brigadier general, making him the highest-ranking actor in American military history.
Although Marlene Dietrich did not serve directly in the U.S. Armed Forces, her actions during WWII certainly place her among the ranks of actors who were war heroes. Originally a German citizen, the actress was an outspoken opponent of Germany's Nazi regime and eventually renounced her citizenship to become an American citizen.
Instead, Newman served as a radioman and rear gunner for torpedo bombers. He was deployed to the Pacific Theater where he was stationed aboard the USS Bunker Hill. In a stroke of luck, Newman's pilot developed an ear infection just before his unit was set to leave for the Okinawa campaign, holding them back from flying and, ultimately, sparing them the fate of the rest of the ship, which was destroyed in the
Elvis Presley Six Years In The Army
battle, killing many sailors on board. Meanwhile, we have the soldiers who defied convention on their way to becoming war heroes. There's "Mad Jack" Churchill, who stormed into battle during World War II wielding a broadsword or a longbow, and or George Henry Thomas, a Southern general who fought for the Union Army.
Soon enough, Driver traded his rifle for a lightsaber and has starred in numerous "Star Wars" films, but still often discusses his time in the Marine Corps and gives back to the military community through nonprofit organizations.
Throughout American history, there have been countless women who served the U.S. military, whether directly as combatants during physical conflicts or in supportive roles in essential services. Through a mixture of tact, skill, leadership and willpower, the aforementioned women achieved their personal goals and also had a positive impact on the U.S.
military as a whole. Called "the greatest civilian soldier" of World War I by Gen. John Pershing, Alvin York grew up in a log cabin in Pall Mall. York, famously portrayed by Gary Cooper in a 1941 film, faced fierce German machine-gun fire behind enemy lines with his small squad during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918. Attacking alone, he managed to turn the tide of the fighting and eventually captured.
Annie G Fox
132 Germans and killed two dozen others. He received the Medal of Honor in 1919. In 2008, Cpl. Joseph Lollino was serving with the Army in Afghanistan as a medic when his convoy came under fire.
He drove into the line of fire and stayed there to treat four injured soldiers. Although hit by shrapnel himself, Lollino continued to treat others' wounds and got the casualties evacuated. For his actions, the Hoffman Estates native received the Distinguished Service Cross.
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