Little known fact: Tank Cat served in the Mekong Delta.
Veterans Day can be a slippery holiday. Unlike Memorial Day, which gets a barbecue-filled three-day weekend to kick off summer, Veterans Day often falls in the middle of the week, isolated by days of work and crummy November weather.
As a veteran myself, I’m often unsure what to do with the day. Call old friends and reminisce? Go to a parade? Drink a bottle of Thunderbird and cry? None of it feels appropriate, and so I end up volunteering for some kind of veterans service, because I’m pure of heart and my soul is filled with the warmth of a thousand golden retriever puppies.
But YOU shouldn’t have to waste your Veterans Day listening to old people talk about gooks and krauts. You’re busy, which is why you’re wasting time on the Internet in hopes of reading stories about American servicemen wrecking chunks of foreign countries and taking lives in the defense of the Constitution, freedom, apple pie, and getting oral sex in Corvettes. With that in mind, here are eight badass American vets you’ve probably never heard of (in the interest of originality, I steered clear of military legends like Audie Murphy). All together now: U-S-A! U-S-A!
1. Colonel Lewis L. Millett, U.S. Army (World War II, Korea)
How much did Millett hate America’s enemies? In 1941, while training in the Army Air Corps, he heard President Roosevelt declare that America wouldn’t go to war in Europe, so he deserted and joined the Canadian army to fight Nazis. While waiting in England to fight, the U.S. Army caught up, and he was allowed a transfer back to his native military, with which he fought in North Africa. While there, he was awarded the Silver Star for driving a burning ammunition-filled halftrack away from his fellow soldiers, then leaping away to safety just before it exploded.
Millett then got promoted into the officer corps — despite the court-martial for desertion — and eventually served in Korea as a company commander, where he earned the Medal of Honor and the Distinguised Service Cross (the nation’s two highest medals for valor) for two leading two different bayonet charges. From his Washington Post obituary (he died one year ago):
“We had acquired some Chinese documents stating that Americans were afraid of hand-to-hand fighting and cold steel,” he told Military History. “When I read that, I thought, ‘I’ll show you, you sons of bitches!’”
HARD. CORE.
Bonus Badass Points: Rocking a sweet mustache for half a century.
2. Captain George Mallon, U.S. Army (World War I)
World War I is a pretty depressing, stagnant war. I mean, all wars are depressing, but WWI really takes the cake for hopelessness and trench foot and deadly technological advancements (the tank, the machine gun) for which there were no tactical developments. And since the only real results from WWI were the League of Nations and World War II, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the badasses of the original Great War.
Enter George Mallon. On a foggy day in which the limited visibility separated him from his company, he led nine soldiers on an epic assault in which they captured 100 prisoners, 11 machineguns, four 155-millimeter howitzers and one antiaircraft gun. From his Medal of Honor citation:
Continuing on through the woods, he led his men in attacking a battery of four 155-millimeter howitzers, which were in action, rushing the position and capturing the battery and its crew. In this encounter Capt. Mallon personally attacked 1 of the enemy with his fists.
Dude, I couldn’t even bring myself to punch the guy who was standing in a parking place to save it the other day, and that guy deserved a beating WAY worse than some German artilleryman. But it was no big deal for Mallon, who apparently got tired of using complex, impersonal weapons like “knives” and “bayonets” during combat. Nope, don’t mind George, he’s just going to assault this artillery battery with his fists.
3. Major Brian Chontosh, U.S. Marine Corps (Iraq)
I was in the same Basic Officers Course as Chontosh back in 2000, which is kind of like a retarded kid bragging about going to high school with Einstein. Chontosh is a folk hero in the Marine Corps today, but he was a star even as a young lieutenant during peacetime: even though his leadership and academic ranking guaranteed him his career choice as an infantry officer, he selflessly gave up his weekends to help struggling lieutenants improve their land navigation skills.
So it came as no surprise to me a couple years later that he’d won the Navy Cross, the nation’s second-highest honor (the Navy/Marine Corps version of the Distinguished Service Cross). Serving as a platoon commander during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, his platoon became caught in the kill zone of an ambush. Without hesitation, he directed his Humvee directly at the enemy machine gun fire, then dismounted his vehicle and attacked the enemy trench, emptying his M16 and 9mm pistol of ammunition, then twice picking up discarded enemy AK-47s to continue his attack, then picking up an enemy rocket-propelled grenade launcher to finish his counter-assault. He singlehandedly killed 20 Iraqis and wounded several while clearing 200 meters of trench line. Oh, and he also has two Bronze Stars for heroism during other combat tours. NBD.
Bonus Badass Points: Chontosh is one of the premiere CrossFit athletes in America. Watch him casually lift stacks of metal here.
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Outstanding post, Uff. Thanks for your service.
Glad to see some love for the servicewomen, too!
an award given to people injured in combat
“It’s called ‘wounded,’ Peanut. ‘Injured’ is when you fall out of a tree or something.”
No Billy Waugh?
I met Millett when the Medal of Honor convention was in Riverside about 10 years ago. He was metal. His kids went to Vietnam and he was mad the Army wouldn’t let him go to.
Want to feel inadequate? Go to the Medal of Honor convention. Ye gods. And as badass as they all are, they all say the same thing, ‘I know at least 10 guys who died that deserve this more than me, but I will wear it for them.’
Thanks to all vets for their service.
I was hoping for something on William Eaton, the original Marine bad ass, but this is still some awesome reading. Thanks Matt.
Great post. Thanks for your service, and thanks to everyone else in the Services. I’ll go back to being wholly undeserving of it now.
@Your Nation – it’s called a synonym, peanut.
Great post. Thank you for giving me the freedom to talk about and look at Katy Perrys boobs.
Needs more Lance Sijan.
Thank you, Matt. Really enjoyed the post, too.
Sick post Matt, appreciate the list. If you do a 2d edition, check out Doug Zembiec. He was the AOIC when I was at Amphibious Reconnaissance School, and he was killed serving as a company commander in Fallujah. Read up on him, he was a stud.
Yeah, these guys are all great… but what have they done for us lately? I sit here in my La-z-boy drinking mai tais all day long, and not a single heroic combat veteran has been by to warm up the water in my footbath.
Wait, whaddya mean all of ‘em are overseas? My cuticles need protecting ON THESE SHORES!
But seriously, my grand-uncle served in North Africa and was a Bronze Star recipient; he started his own company while going to college, then put both on hold while he chased the DPRK to the Yellow River, and then came back home to survive a head-on car accident that cost him an eye (he’d entertain us kids when we visited him in Florida by dropping his glass eye into the swimming pool and making us dive in and retrieve it). He was an impressive guy who seemed invulnerable–not physically, as lung cancer finally got him, but his determination and resolve was amazing. He lived 50 years with shrapnel in his gut, and rather than complaining about it, he just drank a daily aloe vera smoothie. Got sunburn? Put aloe vera on it. Got hit by a bus? Aloe vera. Of course, he was allergic to bee stings, so no aloe vera for that.
But like Slothrop said, my grand-uncle never thought he was any special; what I’ve seen/read about heroic vets and how most of their lives unfold after their service, they’re extraordinary men (and women) who happened to be in a situation where their extraordinariness made a difference in wartime.
And that means lives were changed, and saved. All the more reason to honor them.
Aww, crap. My toes are all pruney now. Life sucks.
Burn Notice Michael Weston gets bonus points for having the same name as the real one.
Holy cow. Roy Benavidez should go around with business cards calling himself “The Unstoppable Benavidez.”
MSG Benavidez is my hero.
@tsparrow0321 – The pool at Henderson Hall in named after Doug Zembiec.
If you were judging based on your average American, no way we’re the greatest country in the world, because all most of them want to do nowadays is slime each other over petty political BS. Luckily, we have these incredible individuals who rise above all that stuff to honor and defend this country as one nation, and in doing so secure it’s position as the greatest country in the world. Thanks to all the veterans: past, present, and future. And great post.
Great Post Matt. Thanks for your service. And the citation on MSG Benavidez’s MOH is possibly the most incredible thing I’ve read in a while.
Great post, Uff. Thanks for your service and for masterfully negotiating the delicate balance between military heroism and fuzzy Corgis.
Respect to all the troops who make the ultimate sacrifices for all of us who can’t imagine the heroism required to live up to these men and women.
Check out this amazing story of one allied forces WW2 vet we up north are very proud of.
[www.badassoftheweek.com]
I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Col. Millet when I was a very young infantryman in the Wolfhounds. He was the honorary Colonel of the regiment, and a hell of a man.
I also had the pleasure of knowing MSG Benavidez’ cousin, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in the same fight that saw MSG Benavidez awarded the MoH. Badass cousins in the same fight!
Sadly, both have passed.
“And since the only real results from WWI were the League of Nations and World War II” Don’t forget about WWI other great contribution to world history, the barrel of fun that was the USSR.
Seriously awesome post Uff. Reminds me of my own service to this great county with the Army in Egypt. One time the local PX didn’t get a shipment of supplies in for over two months. WE COMPLETELY RAN OUT OF BEER AND, AND WHISKEY! Terrifying stuff.
Respect to all the heroic badasses who fought and gave everything for all of our freedom.
“Wow, did Private Leo Major of the Chaudiere Regiment of the Canadian Army bring his A-game to Europe back when Hitler needed a good bit of iron-fisted cock-punching justice.”
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/leomajor.html
Nice post, Matt. Happy Birthday to you and the rest of the Devil Dogs, current and alumni. By the way, MAJ Zembiec, aka The Lion of Fallujah, also had the CG’s helipad in Baghdad named after him. I felt pretty much like a poser everytime I passed the sign in my armored, air-conditioned SUV.
Thanks for everything Matt, and this article was a great read.
I still can’t believe Chontosh didn’t get the MoH.
@XBradTC:
Col. Millett was, in his own words, one of a kind, he said, ‘You’ll never meet another one like me,’ he said because they won’t let you the things he’s done. If memory serves, he went back on another tour of Korea AFTER he got his MoH. Wow.
Great post, Matt; happy birthday and veterans’ day to you also.
Cole, btw, was killed by a sniper laying out identification panels for friendly CAS in Holland; mind you, this is not something battalion commanders usually do themselves under fire on the front lines. But Cole did.
Awesome post, Ufford, I lived near Gallup and wish more people knew about Hiroshi Miyamura, a Japanese American who served in the tail end of WWII and then was awarded a Medal of Honor in Korea
MSG Benavidez is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, in San Antonio. I, for one, intend to visit this weekend and pay my respects.
You are missing a contender for #1. Jose M. Lopez. I saw this man in person, at the state capitol while he was being honored shortly before his death, he must be 5’3! His life story is like a movie. Total badass!
[en.wikipedia.org]
No love for a fellow Marine named Sgt. Mitchell Paige, Uff?
[www.homeofheroes.com]
I should have linked the Band of Brothers episode that line was taken from.
[www.youtube.com]
Lt. Chew-Een Lee.
Incredible Marine.
Major Zembiec was an incredible Marine, I second his nomination for this list. Great stuff though, thanks for serving.
I sat next tio Col. Millet at an event for Medal of Honor recipients at the Reagan library. He was exactly what you would expect from a grizzled war hero. He said hello and drank his scotch. All of a sudden he got up and hobbled away very quickly. When we looked to see where he had gone we saw that he was chasing after Bo Derek. I was impressed with his speed considering he was using a cane.
As a veteran, one of my biggest pet pieves is when people refer to “winning” the MOH. Nobody “wins” and MOH, they’re awarded an MOH.
I’m a biased sapper, but PFC Melvin Brown’s MOH citation is my favorite: “The attackers continued to assault his position and Pfc. Brown weaponless, drew his entrenching tool from his pack and calmly waited until they 1 by 1 peered over the wall, delivering each a crushing blow upon the head.”
Where is Carlos Hathcock?
My name is as it was. I am a veteran, too. And Matt, your list is awesome! I got here by way of AofS HQ…
To whomever mentioned Maj Zembiec…Blackfive did a great “Someone You should know” on him, and I agree with you.
There are so many more we will never learn about…
Nice, Youri Nation. I got the Band of Brothers reference.
I was in bootcamp with Maj. Weston in 1995. Most of us spent the better part of 13 weeks scrabbling around in the dirt like crazed monkeys. Weston retained his composure and conducted himself like a gentleman at all times. Some on this list are ordinary people who rose to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances. Michael Weston was truly a better man who spent his life carrying the burden for others.
Thanks for the excellent read! My old man was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart as a PFC serving with the 90th Inf. Div. in Metz, FR in WWII. Every time I think that I caught a bad break or that I’m uncomfortable, I think about my dad and other vets who have served and continue to serve this great country without question or complaint – and I instantly feel like a pussy. That warm blanket of freedom under which we blissfully sleep every night was earned by the blood and sacrifices of these heroes. I will always remember and never forget. Thank you!
Private First Class Melvin E. Newlin, USMC, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient. This devil dog repelled five enemy assaults on his machine gun position, was repeatedly hit by small arms fire, knocked unconscious but awoke to bring fire upon the rear of the enemy’s assault causing them to stop their attack, turn around and assault his position again. Unfortunately he was mortally wounded. He just kept going. Now that’s motivating.
Served with Chontosh back when we were both Corporals in 2/2. He left for OCS shortly before I did. Good people. Suffered some serious PTSD after the war, and the Corps squirrled him away at IOC for a while. Glad to see his athleticism is helping him out.
ok
Uff, great work but please check out and this story about Maj James Capers, USMC (RET).
[www.marines.mil]
If you do decide to do a Part II, I would like to recommend my brother-in-law, Zac Rhyner, who was awarded the Air Force Cross last year:
[www.youtube.com]
[northshorejournal.org]
Thanks for this post!
I just read the account of Hester. It’s a hell of a story. What pisses me off about it is the fact that this goes on all the time. If Hester was male, the story of her squad would never have been reported on.
My Grandfather served on the USS Killen and survived the battle of Leyte in WWII. The ship was heavily damaged and took weeks to limp back to San Fran for repairs. While in port, the crew was given leave and he found a flight to take him home to the east coast to visit his daughter (my mother) … his plane crashed into the SF harbor on take off killing all aboard. He and three of his shipmates died and due to circumstances were ineligible for the Purple Heart or other benefits provided to those who perish in combat. There is a special place in my heart for those willing to serve, and an immeasurable amount of gratitude for those who give limb or life, or who enter harms way to protect thier fellow warriors in service to their country. As a 22 year retiree, and current Army Civil Servant, I always say a silent toast and lift my glass in honor of all those who serve, and those who have served with honor. Thanks fellow Vets!