Bravery overlooked by the history books — stories of individuals whose courage changed lives, but whose names were buried by time, discrimination, or the sheer scale of war.
Showing 8 heroes
Charles Norman Shay, a Penobscot Indian from Maine, was just 19 when he waded ashore on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. As a combat medic with the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, he...
Awards: Silver Star, four Bronze Stars, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Légion d'honneur (France), Order of Leopold (Belgium)
On May 12-13, 1945, near Taungdaw, Burma, Havildar Lachhiman Gurung single-handedly defended his forward post against 200 Japanese soldiers. When the first wave attacked, Gurung lost his right hand to...
Awards: Victoria Cross (highest British gallantry decoration)
Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker, smuggled approximately 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation, saving them from certain death at Treblinka. Her metho...
Awards: Righteous Among the Nations (1965), Order of the White Eagle (Poland's highest civilian decoration, 2003), Nobel Peace Prize nominee (2007)
On Christmas Day, 1944, First Lieutenant John R. Fox, an African American artillery observer with the 598th Field Artillery Battalion, found himself surrounded by German infantry in the Italian villag...
Awards: Medal of Honor (awarded 1997, posthumously), Purple Heart
Léon Gautier was the last surviving member of the Kieffer Commando, the only French unit to land on D-Day alongside Allied forces. As a 21-year-old naval commando, he stormed Sword Beach on June 6, 1...
Awards: Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with palm, Médaille Militaire, Légion d'honneur (Commander), Bronze Star Medal (U.S.)
Nancy Grace Augusta Wake was the Gestapo's most wanted person, with a 5 million franc price on her head. Codenamed 'The White Mouse' for her ability to evade capture, she became one of the most decora...
Awards: George Medal (UK), Medal of Freedom (U.S.), Légion d'honneur (France), Croix de Guerre with two palms and a star
Desmond Thomas Doss was a devout Seventh-day Adventist who refused to carry a weapon due to his religious beliefs. Drafted in 1942, he became a conscientious objector serving as a medic—the first to...
Awards: Medal of Honor, Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters
Martha Gellhorn was one of the first female war correspondents and the only woman to land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. When the military banned female journalists from combat zones, Gellhorn s...
Awards: Numerous journalism awards, buried in history behind her famous husband Ernest Hemingway