30MAR1967: Serving as a platoon leader with I Co. 3/9 Marines, 2ndLt John Bobo and his men were on a routine patrol near the North Vietnam border when they set in for the night on Hill 70.  As the platoons moved out from the main company element, a larger enemy force watched and prepared their attack.

Soon, the NVA soldiers attacked the now dispersed Marine force.  Using the tall elephant grass as cover, they were able to get within close range as their mortars and machine guns kept the US forces pinned down.  Recognizing the immediate risk to his men, Bobo began moving around the lines, setting in a hasty defense and leading his men in pushing back the enemy force.  

As he was moving among his men, an enemy mortar round landed nearby and severed his leg just below the knee.  Refusing to be evacuated, Bobo had the medic tie a tourniquet with a web belt, pushed his stump into the dirt to slow the bleeding and was propped up against a tree.  With weapon in hand, he aimed to provide a rear guard action as his men moved back to a more defensible position.  

Firing point blank into the attackers, Bobo is credited with killing at least five enemy fighters before he was hit once more and killed on the battlefield.  His selfless act of covering his men at risk of this own life, allowed his Marines to consolidate and hold on through the rest of the deadly fight.  For his brave act, 2ndLt John Bobo would be awarded, posthumously, the Medal of Honor. 

21JUN2006: Setting in with his team on a mountaintop in Nuristan province Afghanistan, SFC Jared Monti and his men were tasked with serving as a forward observer for a large operation in valley below.  Hiking to the top of the mountain to avoid enemy detection, Monti and the 16-man team set in on the peak and waited for the operation to kick off.  However, as the mission was delayed, Monti and his men soon ran low on critical supplies.  A resupply helicopter was sent in but would in turn, give away their position to enemy fighters nearby.

Just before dusk, the sky lit up with enemy fire.  A force of at least 50 hit their position from an elevated position taking deadly aim on the American Soldiers below.  Quickly recognizing the severity of the attack, Monti, a forward observer, got on the radio and began coordinating air and artillery strikes to push back the enemy attackers.  Despite the heavy, accurate barrage of fire, Monti passed along missions that would be designated 'danger close' due to their proximity to friendly forces.

As the Soldiers fell back to a consolidated position, PVT Brian Bradbury was hit by enemy fire and fell, wounded.  Recognizing that Bradbury was on the brink, his fellow Soldiers began calling out, trying to keep him talking until the MEDEVAC aircraft arrived.  

SFG Jared Monti sprang into action, despite the overwhelming volume of enemy fire, he began to push forward to rescue his wounded brother.  Twice he tried but was quickly pushed back.  Finally, Monti went for it and as he neared Bradbury was hit and killed by enemy fire.  

For his incredibly brave and selfless act, giving his life to try to save a brother, SFC Jared Monti would be awarded the Medal of Honor.  

21FEB1968: A one man wrecking crew, SGT Joe Hooper wouldn't stop when his unit became pinned down during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.  As one of his company mates commented, "he did more in one day, wounded, than I thought could have been done in a month."

Assaulting an enemy position, Hoopers unit became pinned down by machine gun fire from a series of bunkers across a small stream.  Taking the initiative, Hooper jumped up and assaulted across the creek taking out all five bunkers.  The act motivated his men and they jumped up and followed suit, pressing the attack forward in a fight that would rage for seven hours.  

Always moving into enemy fire to retrieve wounded Soldiers, SGT Hooper was hit early and severely wounded.  Paying no attention to his wounds, Hooper quickly identified and destroyed three more enemy bunkers in short order.  Seeing two enemy fighters attacking a US chaplain, Hooper moved over to kill the two before again identifying a series of fighting positions set up in nearby buildings.  Assaulting the buildings, he knocked out all three before starting to return to his lines.

Running out of ammunition in the assault, Hooper was headed to resupply when an enemy officer jumped out and fired his weapon point blank, but it misfired.  Turning to run, Hooper chased the enemy down and killed him with his bayonet.  Going on to resupply, Hooper then went and cleared yet another bunker before his unit was once more pinned down.

Seeing a trench system connecting the bunkers laying fire into his men, Hooper grabbed a bag of grenades and ran into the trench.  As he sprinted the length, he lobbed grenades into each enclosure, destroying all four.    Still refusing medical aid until all of his men were taken care of, SGT Hooper would pass out from blood loss the following morning and be evacuated.  

He would survive the war and be awarded the Medal of Honor in 1969.  After commissioning as an officer, Hooper would continue to serve until 1978 and would unfortunately pass away at the age of 40 in 1979.  

28AUG2013: With American, Polish, and Afghan Soldiers inside, Taliban fighters kicked off a deadly attack on FOB Ghazni.  Initiating the fight with a massive car bomb at the gate, the insurgents opened fire from multiple directions with RPG, machine gun, and mortar fire into the base.  Having opened a hole in the outer wall, ten Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests poured in, hoping to inflict as many casualties as possible.

Hearing the blast, SSG Michael Ollis got moving.  First checking on his men to ensure they were all alive and not wounded, he took off towards the sound of gunfire.  In the process, he came across a Polish officer and a team of Special Forces Soldiers who had already killed eight of the attackers.  Shortly thereafter, a ninth attacker was identified and killed, leaving only one remaining in the base.

Just then, an insurgent wearing a suicide vest stepped out from behind a container, right next to Ollis and the Polish officer.  Without hesitation, Ollis stepped in front of his Polish brother and engaged the fighter.  As the vest detonated, Ollis was killed instantly but saved the Polish officer by shielding him from the blast.  

For his brave and selfless sacrifice, SSG Michael Ollis would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.  And to add a beautiful ending to the tragic story, the Polish officer who's life Ollis saved, returned home and named his first son 'Michael'.  

14MAR1945: Fighting during the deadly battle of Iwo Jima, Pvt Franklin Sigler and his company had been held up by an enemy machine gun position for days.  As his unit began, once more, to attack the position, his squad leader was hit and wounded.  Without hesitation, Sigler took command of the squad and moved forward.

Leading the charge against the enemy position, Sigler was first to reach the dugout at which point he destroyed the entire Japanese crew with hand grenades.  Right then, Sigler and his men started to take fire from multiple directions as Japanese soldiers emerged from additional cave entrances and tunnels across the hillside.  

Climbing directly at the Japanese soldiers, Sigler reached their position and again destroyed multiple positions.  Severely wounded in the attack, Sigler moved back to his men where he refused evacuation and instead directed machine gun and rocket fire into the cave entrances.  Refusing to stop, Sigler then moved three of his wounded brothers away from the front lines before he was finally ordered to seek medical treatment for himself.  

For his heroic assault into the Japanese attack and never stopping to care for his men, Pvt Franklin Sigler would be awarded the Medal of Honor.  

04SEPT1950:  Taking place in the critical Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, PFC Melvin Brown moved with his team to take Hill 755 where they prepared for an enemy counterattack.  Leading with heavy machine gun fire, the counterattack quickly materialized with Brown and his men doing their best to hold on.

Brown moved atop a wall where he could identify enemy soldiers moving to attack.  From there, he laid down deadly fire and began lobbing grenades into the advancing foe.  As he was in the most forward position, Brown's fellow Soldiers began bringing grenades close to his position as a resupply.  Out of ammunition and having just thrown his last grenade, PFC Brown picked up his entrenching tool and waited.  

As the next 10+ enemy Soldiers attempted to scale the wall at his position, Brown killed each in deadly hand to hand combat.  His valiant effort so inspired his men that they held the line, starting what would eventually turn the tide of the war.  In the deadly close quarters combat of these few days, PFC Melvin Brown was declared missing and later, killed in action during the battle.

In recognition of his brave sacrifice, PFC Melvin Brown, killed at the age of 19, would be awarded posthumously, the Medal of Honor.  

17APR2004: As the Battle of Husaybah raged, Capt Richard Gannon got the call that his Lima Company was needed to reinforce a sniper outpost coming under intense enemy fire.  Without hesitation, Gannon led his men into the mean streets filled with enemy fighters.

Shortly, his team came under fire from multiple directions as the enemy poured down effective small arms and RPG fire.  Capt Gannon organized an attack on an estimated enemy squad sized element and as his team was moving forward, the assault section leader was wounded.  The wounded Marine was pulled from the deadly streets to a compound courtyard in order to be treated.

Capt Gannon, moving forward to his wounded Marine, entered a courtyard and found himself face to face with nine enemy fighters.  In a brief and vicious fight that included grenades and rifle fire, Capt Gannon was hit and mortally wounded.  For his brave act of pushing through the deadly fire to retrieve his wounded Marine, Capt Richard Gannon would be awarded, posthumously, the Silver Star.  

05NOV1966: Commanding Alpha Company, 2-27IN, CPT Robert Foley and his men were tasked with moving to the aid of a surrounded American unit to pull them to safety.  The unit was involved in Operation Attleboro, a search and destroy mission that came under heavy contact all across their positions early in the mission.  With the company commander killed and taking heavy casualties, Foley and his men were called upon to reinforce.

Moving through friendly lines to reach the cut off unit, Foley and his men were barely 40m into the patrol when they came under intense enemy fire.  With the incredibly dense jungle canopy, it was hard to see very far in any direction which gave the dug in enemy an advantage.  Quickly, both of Foley's radio operators were wounded.  He moved both through the hail of gunfire back to a covered area to have their wounds treated.  

Moving back forward to assess the situation, Foley watched as one of his machine gunners was hit and fell.  Now angered that his men were being killed and he was at risk of being pinned down, the company commander grabbed the machine gun and assaulted forward.  Having linked as much ammunition as he could together, Foley rushed towards multiple enemy positions and fired inside at point blank range.  Continuing the assault until three bunkers were cleared, Foley looked back to see his men pressing forward with the attack.

Shortly, Foley and his men would break through the enemy lines and reach the stranded Americans.  Due in large part to his assaulting through the enemy ambush, Foley's unit was able to rescue the Americans and bring them back to base.  

For his brave and selfless act, CPT Robert Foley was awarded the Medal of Honor.  He would continue to serve a total of 37 years, reaching the rank of Lieutenant General and retiring in 2000.  

26MAY2008: With his unit tasked with the kill or capture of a high value target, SSG Leroy Petry and his men exited the aircraft and almost immediately came under fire.  Quickly neutralizing one target, Petry moved to one of the target compounds and staged with one of his men to enter.

Stepping into the courtyard, Petry and one other Ranger were hit and wounded by enemy fire.  Quickly, the two moved to a covered position behind a small building.  Shortly joined by another Ranger, the three prepared for the enemy to round the corner at any moment.  Instead, they were knocked to the ground by a blast of a grenade that was lobbed over the wall.  Sitting up, Petry noticed a second grenade that had just come to rest behind his two Soldiers.  

Without hesitation, Petry lunged forward and picked up the grenade to throw it away from his guys.  Just as he did so, it detonated, severing his hand at the wrist.  Administering self-aid, Petry continued the mission until he was brought to a casualty collection point and evacuated for medical treatment.  

For his selfless act in saving the lives of his two Soldiers, SSG Leroy Petry would be awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011.  Rather than medically retire, he would re-enlist, deploy again to Afghanistan and stay in service until 2014.  

14-17MAY1945: Fighting during the brutal Battle of Okinawa, Cpl James Day was stationed on Sugar Loaf Hill as the Japanese prepared to take back the position.  Hanging on and fighting for his life, Day and a dwindling number of his squad held their position through three days of brutal fighting.

Recognizing that Day was holding the line, the Japanese attackers zeroed in on his position, attempting to overrun his squad through a series of brutal night attacks.  Day, breaking up each with small arms, grenades and his bare hands, also spent the night shuttling wounded back to friendly lines.  Eventually wounded by fragmentary and phosphorus grenades, Day cut down over 100 enemy soldiers during the three day fight, many mere feet from his position.  Finally called back, Day moved off the line so American airpower and artillery could hammer the hillside in preparation for a follow on attack.

Staying in the Marines until 1986, Day would serve in Korea and Vietnam and would be promoted to Major General.  As his paperwork was lost, it wouldn't be until 1998 that now MG James Day would be awarded the Medal of Honor.