-
(#1) Bruce Kingsbury
- Dec. at 24 (1918-1942)
Australian trooper Bruce Kingsbury was but a private and had been in combat for just a few weeks, on the brutally hot Kokoda Track on the strategically important island of Papua. Nonetheless, Kingsbury won the UK’s highest honor for his actions in August 1942, singlehandedly delaying a Japanese advance when he ran toward the Japanese line, screaming and firing a huge Bren gun from his hip.
His comrades took up the charge and pushed the enemy back, dispatching at least 30 soldiers. Sadly, Kingsbury was shot by a sniper minutes later - but he’d almost certainly saved his entire battalion from being overrun.
-
(#18) Robert Cain
Isle of Man native Major Robert Cain fought as a paratrooper in Sicily and Normandy, but the exploits that won him England’s highest honor took place during the abortive Operation Market Garden. Tasked with holding a vital bridge into the strategically important town of Arnhem, Cain held the line with a small group of lightly armed men against German tanks and assault guns. He knocked out one assault gun with a rocket launcher, but the launcher jammed and a round exploded in his face.
Cain was temporarily blinded, but returned to the front line, where his eardrums were blown out by an explosion. He knocked out a feared Tiger tank with an artillery piece, then drove off three more tanks with a rocket launcher. The next day, Cain led the fight against another German counterattack by grabbing a mortar and firing it from his hip at the enemy. His unit was able to withdraw and Cain did what any good English officer does - he shaved.
-
(#7) Matt Urban
- Dec. at 76 (1919-1995)
Lt. Colonel Matt Urban was the most decorated American officer of WWII, and that’s saying something. He fought in seven campaigns and was wounded seven times. He seemingly came back to life so often that the Germans gave him the nickname “the Ghost.” When he was given the Medal of Honor, his citation referred to 10 separate acts of bravery during just the Normandy campaign.
Just a sample of these includes taking on multiple enemy tanks with a bazooka (while walking on a cane because he’d broken his leg landing on Utah Beach), organizing multiple counterattacks after nearly having his leg blown off, then breaking himself out of the hospital, hitchhiking to the front, immediately throwing himself into battle, running into an abandoned tank, and driving it toward the enemy line with no crew. He was wounded again and again, but refused to be evacuated. Finally, a bullet in the throat took him out of combat for good - but Urban recovered, survived the war, and lived until 1995.
-
(#10) George Vujnovich
American intelligence operative George Vujnovich organized and led an operation to smuggle over 500 downed Allied airmen out of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. He first trained a three-man team to parachute into the area disguised as Serbian nationals, and had them work with locals and Allied fliers to set up an airstrip. He then organized the logistics of a series of flights to get the men out, smuggling 512 men from an incredibly dangerous region without ever losing a plane or being detected.
Vujnovich’s cunning plan remained secret until 2007, when the unassuming owner of an airplane parts supply company was revealed to be a former secret agent who saved hundreds of lives. Vujnovich passed in 2012 at the age of 96.
-
(#9) Lewis Millett
- Dec. at 89 (1920-2009)
When young American officer Lewis Millett heard President Roosevelt declare that America wouldn’t go to battle in Europe, he deserted, hitchhiked to Canada, and joined the Canadian army. He served as an anti-aircraft gunner in London before transferring back to the US Army, which was now in the fight. It was in North Africa that Millett showed tremendous and probably insane bravery, at one point getting into a burning, ammunition-filled half-track and driving it away from his comrades, then jumping off of it just before it exploded.
Just for good measure, he shot down a German fighter with a machine gun on a different, non-burning half-track. Finally, the Army figured out his desertion, court-martialed him, and promoted him anyway. Millett later fought in Korea, where he led the last bayonet charge in American military history, as well as Vietnam. He passed in 2009.
-
(#2) Bhanbhagta Gurung
- Dec. at 87 (1921-2008)
A Nepalese Gurkha fighting for Britain, Gurung won the Victoria Cross in 1945 for his insanely courageous attack on five Japanese foxholes that were holding up a Gurkha advance.
Running from position to position, Gurung cleared four with grenades and his bayonet, then he advanced on the final one, a machine gun nest. But he was out of grenades, so he threw a smoke bomb in, stabbed the Japanese troops who emerged with his personal knife, then broke into the machine gun nest and beat the last man with a rock. The position was held against Japanese counterattack thanks to Gurung’s guts and leadership. After WWII, he went back to Nepal to care for his mother, and perished in 2008.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
Do you know the history of World War II? I believe that everyone has learned some events and heroes about the largest world war in history textbooks during schooltime. World War II is the cruelest war in human history. The war ranged from Europe to Asia, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 61 countries and regions with more than 2 billion people were involved in the war.
The saddest thing is that the heroes of World War II are leaving every day. Although some important WWII historical figures are well-known throughout the culture, most are not. The random tool introduced 21 brave and selfless WWII heroes you may not have heard of, but who made important contributions to the war.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.