Medal of Honor Podcast

Sergeant First Class Webster Anderson served in the Army in Vietnam. He lost two legs and an arm defending his position near Tam Ky, but his resilience and bravery encouraged his men, led to victory, and earned him the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Privates First Class Charles D. Barger and Jesse N. Funk both served in World War I as Stretcher Bearers in the U.S. Army. After hearing that two wounded officers were pinned down under heavy fire in No Man’s Land, Barger and Funk leaped into action and raced through heavy fire to save them both. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Major Horace Seaver Carswell Jr. was tasked with piloting a surprise single-plane bombing mission against a convoy of 14+ Japanese ships. Carswell hit his targets, but his B-24 suffered severe damage in the process. Down one parachute, he ordered his men to bail out and leave him behind. He attempted to crash land, but wasn’t able to gain enough altitude and crashed into a mountainside. He was pos...

Corporal James Allen served in the Union Army, and fought in many famous battles including Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Chancellorsville without ever seeing the inside of the hospital. During the Battle of Crampton’s Gap, Allen was separated from the rest of his division, and faced a squad of Confederates. He charged, prompting them to retreat. Allen then realized that they must think he has a squad...

Sergeant David Bruce Bleak served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and was assigned to the Army Medical Service. As he and a patrol of 20 men attempted to capture Hill 499, Sergeant Bleak continuously administered aid while killing four enemies with his bare hands and one with a trench knife, protecting a fellow soldier from a grenade blast, and carrying another down the hill down to safety...

Sergeant Jose M. Lopez was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge. Carrying and operating a heavy machine gun that was meant to be manned by at least three men, Lopez moved from position to position, defending his company from the German attack. He killed over 100 enemies and is credited with being nearly solely responsible for saving his company. Learn more abou...

Master Sergeant Raul Perez “Roy” Benavidez spent his adolescence working a series of odd jobs in Cuero, TX before enlisting in the National Guard in 1952. He would later join the Army and earn his Green beret before being deployed to Vietnam. It was here that he earned the Medal of Honor for risking his own life to rescue wounded soldiers and recover the body of a fallen soldier and the classified...

Cold, underequipped, and out positioned, Private Martinez led the way up tundra mountains through Japanese defenses on the Alaskan island of Attu. As he readied to destroy the final bunker, Martinez was killed, but turned the battle around for his fellow soldiers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last man to leave his sinking ship, Rear Admiral Antrim and his sailors could only run for so long before being captured and imprisoned as POW. Faced with cruelty and brutality from guards everyday, Antrim stood up for his fellow POWs and was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving another’s life in the prison camp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a raid in a Taliban compound, Master Sergeant Petry was wounded in both legs when an enemy grenade landed by his wounded comrade. Without thinking twice, Petry saved his friend by throwing the grenade back and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his self-sacrifice. You can read Petry's Medal of Honor Citation on the National Medal of Honor Museum website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Flying over a thousand miles to his target, 2ndLt Hughes’s B-24 Liberator took heavy fire from enemy flak, yet continued with the mission of bombing burning enemy oil fields. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After enlisting for a second time, Corporal Joseph Vittori was sent to the Republic of Korea at the beginning of the Korean War. Alone in a position of his company’s defense, Vittori held off hundreds of enemy fighters to the death, and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Corporal Roberts’ tank sank into 10 feet of water, his first instinct was to save his gunner, knowing only one of them could escape. Because of his self sacrifice, Roberts was awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LTJG Koelsch was one of two Navy pilots to receive the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. Flying his helicopter deep into enemy territory, he attempted to rescue a downed Marine pilot and resisted capture after being shot down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When PFC Austin’s observation post was spotted and overrun, his only instinct was to save his fellow Marines. Austin sacrificed his life to save another Marine from a deadly grenade, and then took a bullet for him. Because of his sacrifice, Austin was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2ndLt Sudut received a battlefield commission during the Korean War and twice cleared a bunker alone that was stopping his platoon’s attack on a hill. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chief Boatswain’s Mate James Williams served as a patrol boat commander in the Vietnam War, intercepting enemy boats on the Mekong River. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for fighting through an ambush against over 50 armed enemy boats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An escaped slave, Color Sergeant Smith fought in the American Civil War’s Western Theater and Sherman’s March. When his regiment’s color sergeant was killed in battle, Smith grabbed the colors and inspired his men despite the fierce enemy fire. Nearly 140 years after the battle, Smith was awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken and the Medal of Honor podcast team would like to thank you all for your support as listeners. Stay tuned tomorrow for a rerelease of a special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a classified assignment, CMSgt Etchberger’s radar site came under heavy attack from NVA forces. Etchberger was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving his fellow airmen at the cost of his own life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Specialist 4 Larry Dahl originally joined the Army as a truck driver, but when the enemy started ambushing convoys, he became a gunner too, serving on a truck named “Brutus.” Dahl was awarded the Medal of Honor for jumping on a grenade and saving the lives of his truck’s crew during an ambush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of a months-long battle to capture Okinawa, Cpl Bush and his Marines charged a mountain stronghold when an enemy grenade landed among them. Without hesitation, Bush jumped on it, saving their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When his unit’s entire leadership was wiped out during the Argonne offensive, Capt Chiles took command of his battalion, advancing through a creek against heavy fire. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for commanding his unit despite a mortal wound from a sniper, refusing to leave until the unit was in good hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PFC Obregon was a fireman-turned-ammo carrier who saved a wounded Marine in the battle for Seoul. With an enemy platoon approaching, he shielded his fellow Marine’s body from fire at the cost of his own life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First Sergeant Kaufman couldn’t say no to a fight. After being shot in the arm, rendering it useless, and being separated from his men, Kaufman captured an enemy machine gun position despite only having one working arm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices