Gunt McBadpost posted:

Sergeant Stubby (1916 or 1917 – March 16, 1926), was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat.

Stubby was found on the Yale campus in 1917 by John Robert Conroy... Stubby marched with Conroy and even learned an approximate salute. When Conroy's unit shipped out to France, Stubby was smuggled aboard the transport SS Minnesota.



After being gassed himself, Stubby learned to warn his unit of poison gas attacks, located wounded soldiers in no man's land, and — since he could hear the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans could — became very adept at letting his unit know when to duck for cover...



After returning home, Stubby became a celebrity and marched in, and normally led, many parades across the country. He met Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren G. Harding. Starting in 1921, he attended Georgetown University Law Center with Conroy, and became the Georgetown Hoyas' team mascot...

In 1926, Stubby died in Conroy's arms... Stubby was honored with a brick in the Walk of Honor at the United States World War I monument, Liberty Memorial, in Kansas City at a ceremony held on Armistice Day, November 11, 2006.

Also:





I think war dogs are pretty awesome.

e. there's also a dog smoking a cigar in a biplane that I can't seem to find.

SlimWhiskey posted:

I feel bad for dogs jumping out of planes. They have no idea at all what is going on. They're probably terrified.

Senior Woodchuck posted:

The best part about Stubby is that there were soldiers who had to salute him and call him "Sir."

BlueBayou posted:

Not so much seeing as you don't call NCOs (which is what a sergeant is) "sir"

from Wikipedia posted:

Greengold's "Koah Zvika" (Zvika Force) spotted Syrian tanks belonging to the 51st Independent Tank Brigade[2] which had broken through the line and was advancing unopposed northwest along the road to Nafekh. Greengold's two tanks engaged the opposing T-55s at 2100, with Greengold destroying six.[2] Later, he had lost contact with his other tank when he spotted the advancing 452nd Tank Battalion. He engaged the enemy, taking advantage of the darkness and moving constantly to fool the Syrians into thinking the defenders were stronger than they were. Greengold destroyed or damaged ten enemy armoured vehicles before the confused Syrians withdrew, believing they were facing a sizable force.[2] Even Greengold's superiors were deceived; as the fighting wore on, he did not dare report how weak he actually was over the radio for fear it would be intercepted; at best he could only hint "the situation isn't good".[4]
For the next 20 hours, he fought, sometimes alone, sometimes in conjunction with other tanks, displaying an uncanny knack for showing up over and over at the critical moment to tip the scales of a skirmish. He had to change vehicles "half a dozen times"[1] as his tanks were knocked out. He soldiered on, even after he was wounded and burned.[1] When Nafekh itself came under attack from a fresh force of T-62s, he rushed over to bolster the defense.[1] In a lull in the fighting, an exhausted Greengold got out of his latest tank and dropped to the ground, murmuring, "I can't anymore."[2]
Afterward, he claimed 20 enemy tanks destroyed; other estimates place his tally at 40 or more.

Gunt McBadpost posted:

In the same vein:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy (the most decorated American soldier of World War II)

Second Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective

wikipedia posted:

In the beginning of April, the Régiment de la Chaudière were approaching the city of Zwolle, which presented strong German resistance. The Commanding Officer asked for two volunteers to recon the German force before the artillery began firing at the city. Major and his friend Willie Arseneault stepped forward to accept the task. In order to keep the city intact, the pair decided to try to capture Zwolle alone, though they were only supposed to recon the German numbers and attempt contact with the Dutch Resistance.
Certificat2.jpg

Around midnight Arseneault was killed by German fire after accidentally giving away the team's position. Enraged, Major killed two of the Germans, but the rest of the group fled in a vehicle. He decided to continue his mission alone. He entered Zwolle near Sassenport and came upon a staff car. He ambushed and captured the German driver, and then led him to a bar where an officer was taking a drink. Inside he found that they could both speak French (the officer was from Alsace), and Major told him that at 6:00 am Canadian artillery would begin firing at the city, causing numerous casualties among both the German troops and the civilians. As a sign of good faith, he gave the German his gun back.

Major then proceeded to run throughout the city firing his machine gun, throwing grenades and making so much noise that he fooled the Germans into thinking that the Canadian Army was storming the city in earnest. As he was doing this, he would attack and capture German troops. About 10 times during the night he captured groups of 8 to 10 German soldiers, escorted them out of the city and gave them to the French-Canadian troops that were waiting in the vicinity. After transferring his prisoners to the troops, he would return to Zwolle to continue his assault. However, four times during the night he had to force his way into civilian's houses to get some rest. He eventually located the Gestapo HQ and set the building on fire. Later stumbling upon the SS HQ, he got into a quick but deadly fight with eight ranking Nazi officers: four were killed, and the other half fled. He noticed that two of the SS he just killed were disguised as resistance members. The Zwolle resistance had been (or were going to be) infiltrated by the Nazis.

By 4:30 am, the exhausted Major found out that the Germans had retreated, Zwolle had been liberated, and the Resistance contacted. Walking in the street he met four members of Dutch Resistance. He informed them that the city was now free of Germans. Major found out later that morning that the Germans had fled to the west of the River IJssel and, perhaps more importantly, that the planned shelling of the city would be called off and his Régiment de la Chaudière could enter the city unopposed.. Major then took his dead friend back to the Van Gerner farm until regimental reinforcements could carry him away. He was back at camp by 9:00 am. For his actions, he received the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Namarrgon posted:

holy poo poo

quote:

On August 16, 1960, he made the final jump from the Excelsior III at 102,800 feet (31,300 m). Towing a small drogue parachute for initial stabilization, he fell for four minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent, and his right hand swelled up to twice its normal size. He set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere. These are still current USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

Sexual Lorax posted:

Witold Pilecki volunteered at 17 to defend Poland in World War I. That's enough to earn anyone an entry in the badass books, but it was later in his life that he set the badass bar impossibly high. In 1940, he came up with a plan to find out what was going on inside Auschwitz in 1940 by intentionally having an intelligence agent be captured by the Nazis and VOLUNTEERED TO DO IT HIMSELF.

Phantom LOLbooth posted:

Also, I hate to admit this (and it may belong in the "mind blown" thread), but I thought Audie Murphy was just a guy who acted like a badass. I sort of had it in the back of my mind that he had been a soldier, but I didn't know he was THE soldier.

Man with Hat posted:

He also had malaria and was tiny. And I think he got literally all the medals they had back then, even one that was generally only given to dead people. And a whole bunch of non-american ones as well, if I recall correctly.

Edit: My source probably isn't the most reliable one, though. But it is full of awesome badass stories.

Gunt McBadpost posted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy (the most decorated American soldier of World War II)

Robokomodo posted:

I would read the gently caress out of an "armed-forces badasses" page.

Really.

Robokomodo posted:

I would read the gently caress out of an "armed-forces badasses" page.

Really.

quote:

MAXWELL, ROBERT D.

Rank and organization: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Besancon, France, 7 September 1944. Entered service at: Larimer County, Colo. Birth: Boise, Idaho. G.O. No.: 24, 6 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 7 September 1944, near Besancon, France. Technician 5th Grade Maxwell and 3 other soldiers, armed only with .45 caliber automatic pistols, defended the battalion observation post against an overwhelming onslaught by enemy infantrymen in approximately platoon strength, supported by 20mm. flak and machinegun fire, who had infiltrated through the battalion's forward companies and were attacking the observation post with machinegun, machine pistol, and grenade fire at ranges as close as 10 yards. Despite a hail of fire from automatic weapons and grenade launchers, Technician 5th Grade Maxwell aggressively fought off advancing enemy elements and, by his calmness, tenacity, and fortitude, inspired his fellows to continue the unequal struggle. When an enemy hand grenade was thrown in the midst of his squad, Technician 5th Grade Maxwell unhesitatingly hurled himself squarely upon it, using his blanket and his unprotected body to absorb the full force of the explosion. This act of instantaneous heroism permanently maimed Technician 5th Grade Maxwell, but saved the lives of his comrades in arms and facilitated maintenance of vital military communications during the temporary withdrawal of the battalion's forward headquarters.

Korean War Listings posted:

BENFOLD, EDWARD C.

Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman Third Class, U.S. Navy, attached to a company in the 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Korea, 5 September 1952. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Born: 15 January 1931, Staten Island, N.Y. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving in operations against enemy aggressor forces. When his company was subjected to heavy artillery and mortar barrages, followed by a determined assault during the hours of darkness by an enemy force estimated at battalion strength, HC3c. Benfold resolutely moved from position to position in the face of intense hostile fire, treating the wounded and lending words of encouragement. Leaving the protection of his sheltered position to treat the wounded when the platoon area in which he was working was attacked from both the front and rear, he moved forward to an exposed ridge line where he observed 2 marines in a large crater. As he approached the 2 men to determine their condition, an enemy soldier threw 2 grenades into the crater while 2 other enemy charged the position. Picking up a grenade in each hand, HC3c Benfold leaped out of the crater and hurled himself against the on-rushing hostile soldiers, pushing the grenades against their chests and killing both the attackers. Mortally wounded while carrying out this heroic act, HC3c. Benfold, by his great personal valor and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death, was directly responsible for saving the lives of his 2 comrades. His exceptional courage reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for others.

Keshik posted:

The people who get the MoH all have awesome stories, and anyone can read them on the DOD website. One really neat one I have long enjoyed is from 1959, when then-newly-elected-Congressman Dan Inouye was being sworn into office by Speaker Sam Rayburn, the Speaker made a minor gaffe and said to Inouye "Raise your right hand and repeat after me."

Gunt McBadpost posted:

I have no way of backing this up, but I saw a video of a dog leaping into a plane, knowing he was about to sky-dive. So I'd like to think that they not only knew what was coming, they enjoyed it.

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/the-daily-treat-the-extreme-sports-sporting-breed.html this dog seems pretty chill about it all (and badass in it's own way)

a bunch of ants posted:

Michael P. Murphy

Click here for the full 767x600 image.

Chantilly Say posted: