Not every soldier who enlisted in the fight against World War II tyranny was a young man. Army Pfc. Floyd Lindstrom was 30 when he joined. His bravery and passion for the cause was infectious, and that helped earn him the Medal of Honor. Lindstrom was born on June 21, 1912, in Holdredge, Nebraska. His family eventually moved to Colorado ...

A lot of Medal of Honor recipients have engaged in the fight of their lives, just to fight on another day. This was true for Marine Corps Cpl. Lee H. Phillips, who earned the nation’s highest honor during a vicious fight in which he emerged victorious, only to die a few weeks later. Phillips was born on Feb. 3, 1930, ...

More than a decade ago, Army Master Sgt. Matthew Williams earned the Silver Star Medal for saving several of his Special Forces comrades during an hours-long mountainside firefight in Afghanistan. This week, the Green Beret will see that decoration upgraded to the highest level — the Medal of Honor. Williams was born Oct. 3, 1981, and spent most of his childhood ...

Military medics are serious about taking care of their fellow service members in battle, often risking their own lives to do that difficult job. Army Pfc. Richard G. Wilson was one of those men who gave the ultimate sacrifice to save another during the Korean War. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor. Wilson was born in Marion, Illinois, ...

In World War I, “no man’s land” marked the spot between Allied and enemy trenches where cruel and deadly battles often took place. It was called “no man’s land” for a reason — no one wanted to be there. But in October 1918, Army Pfc. Charles Barger and another young soldier braved this wasteland to save two officers. That courage earned ...

While the Invasion of Normandy was the beginning of the end of the Nazi regime in Europe, the Battle of Aachen further solidified that. Aachen was the first major Germany city to fall to Allied forces during World War II — due in large part to the actions of young Army Capt. James Burt. Burt was born in Massachusetts in ...

You never know how service members will react in war. Will they freeze up, or push through the chaos? For World War II Army Pvt. John Towle, it was the latter. The 19-year-old soldier single-handedly took out nine Germans and two armored tanks, saving the lives of his fellow soldiers but losing his own. Towle was born in Cleveland on ...

The traumatic events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed the lives of everyone in America, especially those working for the Defense Department. Terrorists proved that the very symbol of our national security — the Pentagon — was not, in fact, impenetrable. A hijacker flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the southwest corner of the Pentagon that day, killing 184 people — ...

Marine Corps Capt. Everett Pope was a seasoned officer by the time he landed on the small Pacific island of Peleliu during World War II, but little prepared him for what it took to survive there. His leadership while fighting devastating odds earned him the Medal of Honor. Pope was born July 16, 1919, and grew up in Massachusetts, where ...

On Sept. 2, 1945, Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, a Medal of Honor recipient, was among the few U.S. military leaders aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when Japan signed the surrender documents ending World War II. Wainwright is lauded for defending the Philippines when they were overtaken by the Japanese and earned the nickname  “Hero of Bataan.” Born ...

World War II Army Tech. Sgt. Francis J. Clark was part of the famed 28th Infantry Division that was the first American military unit to parade down the Champs-Elysees during the Liberation of Paris on Aug. 29, 1944 — an anniversary that was celebrated with great fanfare over the weekend. Clark is the only World War II soldier from the ...

Few World War II veterans can say they earned not just America’s highest medal for valor, but France’s as well. Army Pvt. Wilburn Ross is part of an elite group who can. Ross single-handedly took out nearly 60 Germans in a five-hour period in 1944, saving his depleted company from an elite German force. Ross was born May 12, 1922, and ...

The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, gave the Allies a foothold on the European continent, but a lot more needed to be done to keep it in place. Army Sgt. John J. McVeigh was one of the thousands of men tasked with strengthening that foothold. He died during his mission, but his effort earned him the Medal of ...

The Air Force was in its infancy when the Korean War began, but many of its airmen were experienced war veterans, having fought in World War II in the Army Air Corps. One of those men was Maj. Louis Sebille, a pilot who became the first Air Force recipient of the Medal of Honor. Sebille was born on Nov. 21, ...

The Wright brothers developed their first successful powered airplane in 1903, and it didn’t take long for the U.S. military to know it wanted in on the action. A few years later, that became reality. Here’s the story of the military’s first airplane. By 1907, the Army Signal Corps was preparing itself for flight — although it wasn’t yet sure ...