Sgt. Gunner
Whether they have a highway or building named after them or they lived out their life in silence, every hero deserved to be recognized. Vote on your hero below and add your own.
#1 Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy earned the Medal of Freedom in WW2 when he commandeered a burning tank destroyer and single-handedly held off the advancing Germany army at the Colmar Pocket in France in 1945 for a hour with a single machine gun.
#2 Chris Kyle
Four Tours of duty. Two Silver Stars. Four Bronze Stars. 160 confirmed kills. A life after serving the United States devoted to serving other veterans who were struggling to adjust back into civilian life. Often regarded as one of the most skilled fighters in US history, Chris Kyle is remembered as a husband and father with an unwavering love for his family and country.
#3 Henry “Black Death” Johnson
Because of errors on his discharge papers, Henry Johnson's wounds and actions went largely unnoticed. At the time of his discharge it was not known that in 1918, he fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple Germans and taking 21 wounds to rescue a fellow solider. After dying at age 35, his son went on to be one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. In 2015, Johnson was post-humorously awarded the Medal of Honor by then President Obama.
#4 “Mad” Jack Churchill
It's hard to think of a more badass mental picture than this man fighting in WW2. Churchill, a British Army office, was know for charging into battle playing the bagpipes, throwing grenades, and attacking the enemy with his Scottish broadsword. Jack Churchill lived his life motto: "Any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."
#5 Nancy Wake
It is easier to list everything this bad ass woman accomplished:
- 1929- Began working as a courier for the French Resistance
- Ran a safe house with her husband.
- Rescued downed pilots and provided new clothes and identities to help them return to Britain. (estimated to have save approx 200 pilots)
- 1943- Captured by the Gestapo and tortured for four days yet gave up no information and was released.
- 1944- Joined Special Operations Executives in London and parachuted into Central France to fight for the Allied forces.
- She specialized in sabotage missions including attacks on Gestapo headquarters.
- She lived to be 98 years old.
#6 Lieutenant Colonel Matthew “The Ghost” Urban
It was reported that in WW2, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Urban, despite being severely injured and without permission, left the hospital that was treating his wounds to hitch-hike back to France and rejoin his regimen to finish the fight. Despite numerous shrapnel wounds and a bullet to the neck, Lieutenant Colonel Urban ended the second world war with seven Purple Hearts.
#7 Virginia Hall
Once considered by the Gestapo to be "the most dangerous of all Allied spies", Hall was the first female operative of Britain’s Special Operations Executive to be sent into France. She worked in three years in France as an Allied Spy. Her cover was later blown and she escaped by hiking through the Pyrenees Mountains. She later returned to France to report on the movement of German troops as a wireless radio operator. After her service in WW2, she joined the CIA in 1951.
#8 Robert Townsend
One of the least-know American spies of the American Revolution. As part of the Culper Ring in the American Revolution is it reported that not even President Washington knew his name but only regarded him by his code name, Cupler Jr. Culper Jr. was charged to monitor the movement of the British in New York. Washington wanted to know very detailed notes about their movement and habits and Cupler Jr. provided very detailed report to General Washington that were later link to the triumph of the American's in the revolution.
#9 Jennie Hodgers/Albert Cashier
Leaving her home country of Ireland, Jennie "Albert Cashier" Hodges ended up in the 95th Illinois infantry as a man. While there is no concrete proof, histories believe that Albert fought in over 40 Civil War battles.
#10 Henry Knox
Knox was tasked by General Washington in the American Revolution with transporting cannons from Fort Ticonderoga. He moved the cannons via ox-drawn sleds over 300 miles of winter terrain until they arrived at Dorchester Heights forcing the British arm to evacuate. Knox was also responsible for managing the logistics of General Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River and managed the siege of Yorktown. After the Revolution, Knox served as the first secretary of war for the United States.
