Heroism

Heroe’s Portraits: Captain Noel Chavasse

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Cpt. Noel Chevasse is one of the three men who have earned the Victoria Cross twice. He was a doctor and earned both awards during the First World War. He won the first VC during the battle of the Somme when his battalion was ordered to attack the village of Guillemont. His battalion, (10th Battalion, Liverpool Regiment) suffered almost 300 casualties out of 600 men and he spent the entire day and night of the attack constantly moving inot no-man’s-land to tend to and recover the wounded while at the same time recovering identity disks from the dead who he could not bring back to friendly lines. His citation read: … More after the Jump…

Heroe€™s Portraits: Lyudmila Pavlichenko

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Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a female Soviet sniper during World War II.   She is credited with 309 confirmed kills and was awarded the Soviet Union’s highest medal for bravery, the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943.   After being wounded by a mortar in 1942 she was pulled from combat because of her growing fame and was commissioned.   She spent the rest of the war as an instructor at a sniper school.   After the war she completed a degree and spent the rest of her life working as a historian, mostly with the Russian Navy.   Hero of the Soviet Union Citations are very difficult to find, … More after the Jump…

Heroe€™s Portraits: Staff Sergeant Stanley Bender, US Army

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Staff Sergeant Stanley Bender, US Army SSG Bender was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions in France during World War II.   He climbed on top of a knocked out tank to locate the source of machine-gun fire that had stopped his company’s advance.   Then he led his squad through a ditch to attack the position and started an assault on the German position in which he killed 37 and captured a further 26 German soldiers.   He survived the war and passed away in 1994.   He is buried in Oak Park, WV. His citation is here: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life … More after the Jump…

Heroe’s Portraits: Captain Charles Upham.

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Captain Charles Upham is one of the three men who were awarded the Victoria Cross twice.   Both his awards were won during World War II, the first in the Battle for Crete in 1941 and the second at the Battle of El Alamein in 1942.   He was captured in the action that earned him the second VC and spent the remainder of the war as POW in Colditz prison.   He retired to New Zealand after the war and bought a farm.   He died in 1994 at the age of 86 in a Christchurch, New Zealand.   His VC and Bar are on display at the Queen … More after the Jump…

Heroe€™s Portraits: Sergeant William Wilson, US Army

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I had to include Sergeant William Wilson because he is one of the nineteen people who have been twice awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and because he belonged the regiment that I was assigned to for both of my deployments.   My unit Forward Operating Base was also named in his honor in Iraq in 2004-2005. There is actually not much known about him.   His citations are below but they do not provide much in the way of detail about the actions in which he earned the award or about him in general.   He is buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery.  WILSON, WILLIAM Rank and organization: … More after the Jump…