Who was the bravest man in WW2?

[Dune]

I'll nominate my great-uncle, Lt. John Heard.  

After training with Gen Patton's 7th Army near Gila Bend, Arizona for the Torch Landings, he was shipped to New Guinnea (typical Army ).

In NG, he was given command of a heavy weapons platoon.  After two weeks in combat, he was shot in the shoulder attacking a Japanese pillbox.  Even with the wound he still managed to get close enough to the pillbox to destory it with grenades.

He then spent almost a year in Army hospitals trying to repair his right arm.  Even later in life he only had about 70% use of it.  He was discharged from the Army with a Combat Infantry Man's medal, Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

- Honorable mention goes to my grandfather (dad's side) who flew C-46's over the Hump in 1945 and my other grandfather who flew P-38's and P-51's with the 8th AF.  



The bravest non-family member is too hard to decide.  There are too many stories from all sides to mention.  One that does stick out is:

GORDON, NATHAN GREEN

Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, commander of Catalina patrol plane. Place and date: Bismarck Sea, 15 February 1944. Entered service at: Arkansas. Born: 4 September 1916, Morrilton, Ark. Citation: For extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty as commander of a Catalina patrol plane in rescuing personnel of the U.S. Army 5th Air Force shot down in combat over Kavieng Harbor in the Bismarck Sea, 15 February 1944. On air alert in the vicinity of Vitu Islands, Lt. (then Lt. j.g.) Gordon unhesitatingly responded to a report of the crash and flew boldly into the harbor, defying close-range fire from enemy shore guns to make 3 separate landings in full view of the Japanese and pick up 9 men, several of them injured. With his cumbersome flying boat dangerously overloaded, he made a brilliant takeoff despite heavy swells and almost total absence of wind and set a course for base, only to receive the report of another group stranded in a rubber life raft 600 yards from the enemy shore. Promptly turning back, he again risked his life to set his plane down under direct fire of the heaviest defenses of Kavieng and take aboard 6 more survivors, coolly making his fourth dexterous takeoff with 15 rescued officers and men. By his exceptional daring, personal valor, and incomparable airmanship under most perilous conditions, Lt. Gordon prevented certain death or capture of our airmen by the Japanese.

[Staga]

Michael Wittman, Hans Wind, Ilmari Juutilainen are my choices thought also these and theseguys did something unbelievable: Volunteered to fight against a ten times bigger enemy with planes like Hawker Hart and Gloster Gladiator.

[Wotan]

most are posting single acts of bravery.........

as comendable as they are they fail to meet, atleast imho, the burden of "bravest man" (i assume this to include all folks men women children)

Since this thread seems to be focussing on individual acts lets stick with it......

What was the single bravest act by an individual in ww2?


But still answer the question who was the bravest individual of ww2?

[funkedup]

I would say the bravest person is anybody who faced almost certain painful death and acted alone to help their comrades.  Probably a million or so of them, but you'll never know the story because most of them died and most of the people around them died.

[NUTTZ]

The bravest man has to be the guy who cleaned the Latrine after all those troops eating Army food:)
NUTTZ

[MrBill]

For bravest Individual I nominate that Japanese Officer?  who surrendered in 1975 or thereabouts.  Man!, fighting on for 30 years after the war ended, I'm impressed!

In second place I would put Schindler.     

I would bet the single bravest act was by some unknown individual, "just doing his job", in a spot so hot that the survivors were to numb to even think about anything other than making it out alive.

[Vulcan]

I remember watching a history series and they interviewed this guys and showed a photo a ground observer took of the action. He had run out of ammo, and although the bomber had been damaged (and possibly abandoned) it was heading for the Palace (or somewhere like that), so he rammed it  - cut its tail off with his prop.

"Aircraft History: The Hawker Hurricane MkI was part of the first production batch of 500 built by Gloster Aircraft  Co. Ltd, Brockworth during 1939/140 under contract number 962371/38/C.23A/ Delivered to 504 squadron, P2725 brought down the first enemy aircraft over London on 15th September 1940, piloted by Flight Sergeant R. T. Holmes. Ammunition exhausted he deliberately rammed a Dornier causing it to crash on Victoria Station, P2725 was badly damaged as a result of this action and Flight Sergeant Holmes had to leave the stricken aircraft by parachute. The Hurricane crashed in the vicinity of Victoria Station."

[GRUNHERZ]

Rudel!

The greatest "Pure Warrior" of WW2.  

Like him or not he certainly was brave.

[Seeker]

Any one who flew a Sword fish

[Charon]

My grandfather, Qunitin Walls.

He was a West Virginia coal miner, a quiet, pragmatic guy with little formal education but a lot of common sense. He joined the Navy right after Pearl Harbor, where he served on a communications command ship, and was present at all the major Atlantic invasion (N. Africa on ) and the later Pacific invasions. He left home a few month's after my mother was born and didn't see her or my grandmother again until the end of the war. My mother still talks about the strange man who was suddenly competing for her mother's attention when he returned. Eventually, they became the closest of "buddies", closer than her relationship with my grandmother I believe.

He encountered a lot of the great allied leaders of the time, and said Bradley and Halsey were the most down to earth. They would stop as ask the enlisted men how things were going from time to time.

His shipboard job wasn't glamorous, he worked in the laundry. At battle stations he manned a 5" gun.

He endured U-boat attacks, German bombers, and Kamikaze attacks. He was afraid constantly, drank every chance he got, but when the time came to hoist those 5" shell into the breech of a gun (and it came fairly often) he was there doing what he had to do.

He wasn't a great warrior living out a great warrior destiny. No one would ever have considered writing a book about his exploits, and he would have been too embarrassed to go along with it anyway -- he just did his job. He was a typical American sailor/soldier/airman of the period cleaning up a mess he would have rather not been involved in if only "people had more sense."

As an interesting story, one thanksgiving after he returned he was tasked with killing the turkey they had been raising for the event. No big deal for anyone raised in a rural environment, particularly in those days just a chop and its done.
He goes off and comes back later with no turkey. After much questioning he admitted to "leaving it in a box to suffocate." My grandmother was not pleased. She goes out and finds the turkey in the box, which he had propped up with a rock so that it could get plenty of air. Yes, not a great warrior but he did what his country asked him to do.

Charon

[SirLoin]

This is one of my favorite stories from WW2.

On the night of July 12/13 1944 after a raid on Cambrai by RCAF No419,a Lancaster was attacked and mortally wounded.The crew bailed out except for the upper turret gunner(Andrew Mynardski..I believe he was Polish) and the tail gunner(George Brophy) who was trapped in his seat...He tried in vain to free his comrad and when his clothes cought on fire,he ran to the cockpit put the plane on auto pilot,tried again to free Brophy but it was no use.His uniform now ablaze and suffering severe burns,he wished his comrad luck and bailed.He survived the jump but died shortly afterwards because of severe burns.

The Lancaster on auto pilot,crash landed in England and Brophy was thrown clear of the crash in his turret and survived with minor injuries.

Flying Officer Andrew Mynardski was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in 1946.

[Thrawn]

Charon, looks like my grandfather and yours have two things in common, service in WW2, and the same last name.

[capt. apathy]

I would have to nominate my father.  He was a Wake Isl. defender.  Part of a very small force of US marines who held that island for about a month at the start of the war with no hope of supplies or reinforcements, and inflicting huge losses to the Japanese.

After that he spent the rest of the war in various POW camps in China and Japan. Enduring torture, beatings, starvation, spur of the moment executions, and all around horrible treatment.

 I don't have the exact location or date (he only talks about the war very occasionally and POW time even less) but apparently there was some involvement in an act of sabotage while a POW in china resulting in the loss of a jap destroyer while it was in dry dock at the shipyard he was being used as a slave at.

[Dawvgrid]

My Father,,,,and I mean it.
He sacrified himself and his health,for freedom and democrati.
Fought the Russians 39-40,together with the finn`s.
Was caught by the germans in 43`,when he participated in a raid
on a Weaponfactory(riffelsyndikatet)(he was in the DK resistent)
The Germans(my mother told me)gave him a very hard beating
(torture),he didn`t want to give up his friends.And then They sent
him to first Neungamme,buchenwald and at last Bergen Belsen.
He returned in 45`,just to find out that his best friend,had been
executed ,just 2 month´S before the war ended.

I remember I once pointed at with a toypistol,that really gave him the shiver,,,his nerves were totally worn out,,poor guy.
he has peace in his soul now (1915-1988)

[Karaya]

While one can think of a million stories of those heroic in the field of battle, I can never forget those who faced death in the face every second of their lives.

I speak of those in the camps. I speak of those who had no weapons to defend themselves. I speak of those who knew their fate and those who lost loved ones for no reason.

Sometimes you do not need a gun or a plane to be a hero.

+++++++++++++++

If I had to pick one person, my Grandpa. B-17 Navigator. Shot down over Germany, busted up his face on the bail out. Walked through Germany for 2 weeks before being captured. Spent a while in POW camp until war ended. He does not like to talk about it.