Highly Decorated Soldier

The Highly Decorated Soldier: Unveiling the Stories Behind the Medals

Introduction:

Have you ever seen a soldier adorned with rows of medals, each gleaming testament to bravery, sacrifice, and exceptional service? These aren't just pieces of metal; they represent extraordinary acts of courage and dedication in the face of unimaginable adversity. This post delves into the world of highly decorated soldiers, exploring the criteria for earning prestigious awards, the stories behind some of the most decorated individuals, and the lasting impact of their service. We'll unravel the complexities of military valor, examining the psychological and emotional toll, as well as the enduring legacy these heroes leave behind. Prepare to be moved by tales of resilience, leadership, and unwavering commitment to duty.


1. Understanding Military Decorations and Awards:

Military decorations and awards aren't handed out lightly. They represent a rigorous evaluation process, scrutinizing actions against strict criteria. Each medal tells a story, reflecting specific acts of bravery, distinguished service, or exceptional performance. We’ll examine the distinctions between medals like the Medal of Honor (the highest military decoration in the US), the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart, outlining the specific actions required to earn each one. Understanding these nuances provides context for appreciating the achievements of highly decorated soldiers. Factors like heroism under fire, exceptional leadership in combat, and sustained performance beyond the call of duty all contribute to the awarding of these prestigious medals.

2. Profiles of Highly Decorated Soldiers: Beyond the Medals

The medals themselves are only a small part of the story. This section explores the lives of several highly decorated soldiers, moving beyond the official citations to uncover the human stories behind the heroism. We'll examine their backgrounds, motivations, and the experiences that shaped their exceptional bravery. We might explore the stories of individuals who served in different conflicts – from World War II to modern-day engagements – highlighting the diversity of experiences and the common thread of exceptional service. The focus will be on providing insights into their personalities, their leadership styles, and the lasting impacts their actions had on their units and the wider military landscape. This part will emphasize the human element, reminding readers that behind every medal lies a unique individual with a compelling narrative.

3. The Psychological and Emotional Toll of Combat and Recognition:

While society celebrates the achievements of highly decorated soldiers, it's crucial to acknowledge the psychological and emotional toll of combat and the subsequent recognition. This section explores the potential challenges faced by these individuals, including PTSD, anxiety, and the complexities of readjusting to civilian life after experiencing extreme trauma. We'll delve into the support systems available to veterans and the importance of acknowledging the unseen scars of war. The narrative will highlight the importance of mental health care for these individuals and the ongoing need for society to understand and support their transition back into civilian life. We'll also consider the impact of public recognition on their lives and the challenges of managing fame and expectation.

4. The Enduring Legacy of Highly Decorated Soldiers:

The impact of highly decorated soldiers extends far beyond their individual actions. This section will discuss the enduring legacy they leave behind, examining their influence on military strategy, training, and the inspiration they provide to future generations of soldiers. We will explore how their stories are incorporated into military history and used as examples of leadership and courage. We will also look at the ways in which their actions continue to shape military culture and policy. The legacy extends beyond the battlefield, touching on their contributions to their communities and their influence on national narratives about courage and sacrifice.

5. Conclusion: Honoring the Sacrifice and Inspiring Future Generations

This concluding section will summarize the key takeaways from the article, emphasizing the importance of understanding and honoring the sacrifices made by highly decorated soldiers. We'll reinforce the message that these individuals are not just symbols of military prowess but are human beings with complex experiences and enduring legacies. We will end on a note of inspiration, emphasizing the role of these stories in fostering patriotism, courage, and a deeper understanding of the sacrifices made in the name of national service.


Article Outline:

Name: The Highly Decorated Soldier: A Deep Dive into Valor and Sacrifice

Contents:

Introduction: Hooking the reader and providing an overview.
Chapter 1: Understanding Military Decorations and Awards.
Chapter 2: Profiles of Highly Decorated Soldiers: Beyond the Medals.
Chapter 3: The Psychological and Emotional Toll of Combat and Recognition.
Chapter 4: The Enduring Legacy of Highly Decorated Soldiers.
Conclusion: Summarizing key takeaways and inspiring future generations.


(The full article content would expand on each chapter outlined above, using approximately 300-400 words per chapter to reach the 1500-word target. Each chapter would include specific examples, historical context, and compelling narratives to support the key points.)


FAQs:

1. What is the highest military decoration in the US?
2. What are the criteria for receiving the Medal of Honor?
3. What are some common psychological challenges faced by highly decorated soldiers?
4. How do military decorations differ across different countries?
5. What support systems are available for veterans with PTSD?
6. How are the stories of highly decorated soldiers used in military training?
7. What is the impact of public recognition on the lives of these soldiers?
8. How can civilians show their support for veterans and their families?
9. What are some resources for learning more about specific highly decorated soldiers?



Related Articles:

1. The Making of a Hero: The Psychological Profile of a Highly Decorated Soldier: Explores the psychological traits and experiences that contribute to exceptional military performance.
2. From Battlefield to Boardroom: The Transition of Highly Decorated Soldiers to Civilian Life: Examines the challenges and successes of transitioning from military service to civilian careers.
3. Women in Combat: The Stories of Highly Decorated Female Soldiers: Highlights the achievements and experiences of women who have earned prestigious military awards.
4. The Legacy of Audie Murphy: Examining the Life and Times of America's Most Decorated Soldier: A deep dive into the life and career of one of the most famous highly decorated soldiers.
5. Beyond the Medals: The Unsung Heroes of Military Service: Focuses on the contributions of support staff and other essential personnel who do not often receive widespread recognition.
6. The Cost of Courage: Understanding the Physical and Emotional Scars of War: A discussion of the long-term physical and psychological impact of combat.
7. Military Leadership Lessons from Highly Decorated Soldiers: Explores leadership principles demonstrated by highly decorated soldiers.
8. The Role of Mental Health Support for Veterans: A look at available resources and support for veterans struggling with mental health issues.
9. Patriotism and Sacrifice: The Meaning of Military Decorations: Examines the symbolic importance of military awards and their significance in broader society.


  highly decorated soldier: To Hell and Back Audie Murphy, 2002-05-01 The classic WWII memoir by America’s most decorated soldier shares a “vivid, gripping, mature picture of combat” (The New York Times Book Review). Originally published in 1949, To Hell and Back was a bestselling phenomenon and later became a major motion picture starring Audie Murphy as himself. It remains one of the most harrowing personal narratives of the Second World War and a perennial classic of military nonfiction. Rejected from both the marines and the paratroopers because he was too small, Murphy was desperate to see action and determined to serve his country. Eventually, he found a home with the infantry and fought through campaigns in Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Although still under twenty-one years old on V-E Day, he was credited with having killed, captured, or wounded 240 Germans. He emerged from the war as America’s most decorated soldier, having received twenty-one medals, including our highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  highly decorated soldier: Knights of the Reich Gunther Fraschka, 1994 Biographies of the twenty-seven Holders of the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross from the Luftwaffe, Heer, Kriegsmarine and Waffen-SS: Werner Molders, Adolf Galland, Gordon Gollob, Hans-Joachim Marseilles, Hermann Graf, Erwin Rommel, Wolfgang Luth, Walter Nowotny, Adelbert Schulz, Hans-ulrich Rudel, Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz, Herbert Otto Gille, Hans Hube, Albert Kesselring, Helmut Lent, Sepp Dietrich, Walter Model, Erich Hartmann, Hermann Balck, Gerhard Ramcke, Wolfgang Schnaufer, Albrecht Brandi, Ferdinand Schorner, Hasso von Manteuffel, Theodor Tolsdorff, Dr. Karl Mauss, Dietrich von Saucken.
  highly decorated soldier: War Is a Racket Smedley D. Butler, 2018-02-18 War Is a Racket is a famous anti-war book written by retired Major General Smedley Buter. In the book, Butler discusses how businesses profit from conflict.
  highly decorated soldier: Behind Enemy Lines Richard Bath, Tommy Macpherson, 2011-01-11 With three Military Crosses, three Croix de guerre, a Légion d'honneur and a papal knighthood for his heroics during the Second World War, Sir Tommy Macpherson is the most decorated living soldier of the British Army. Yet for 65 years the Highlander's story has remained untold. Few know how, aged 21, he persuaded 23,000 SS soldiers of the feared Das Reich tank column to surrender, or how Tommy almost single-handedly stopped Tito's Yugoslavia annexing the whole of north-east Italy. Twice captured, he escaped both times, marching through hundreds of miles of German-held territory to get home. Still a schoolboy when war broke out, Tommy quickly matured into a legendary commando, and his remarkable story features a dizzyingly diverse cast of characters, including Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle.
  highly decorated soldier: Bullet Magnet Mick Flynn, 2010-07-29 A raw, honest and evocative account of life as the most highly decorated serving soldier in the British Army. From the breakneck pace of an opening where he is in action in Helmand province, under fire from the Taliban, Mick Flynn pulls no punches. It's obvious that he is a trained killer. But how did it reach this point? The journey starts with his childhood, a working class lad, learning to fight and finding himself repeatedly on the wrong side of the law. Even after joining the Army he is found at fault and jailed, an experience that finally shocks him into behaving himself. From there, it is off to Northern Ireland and straight into hotspots where Mick's courage and determination are all that keep him alive. There's love too: his estranged wife, Denise, is being brought back into the picture, just as Mick tries to start a new life with his girlfriend Rachel. Can he manage to separate his ferocious soldiering persona from the real Mick? As things remain complicated, Mike flings himself into further tours of duty, in Bosnia, Iraq, the Falklands. Action-packed, shoots-from-the-hip narration from an engaging hero, this is gritty realism at its most shocking.
  highly decorated soldier: Brave Men David H. Hackworth, Julie Sherman, 1993 Odyssey of an Infantryman Condensed from Colonel David H. Hackworth's blockbusterNew York Timesbestseller,About Face, Brave Menis an explosive battlefield chronicle from one of America's most decorated soldiers. Vividly recalling his experiences as an infantry leader, Hackworth takes you to the steep, razor-backed hills and bone-chilling cold of Korea, to the steamy guerrilla-infested jungles of Vietnam, to the real wars fought in the chaos of close combat. Here is Hackworth himself, jumping onto tanks to fire .50 caliber guns...charging through the smoke of frag grenades to land in front of the enemy...taking prisoners at bayonet point with an empty rifle...revealing the brutal emotions of battle...and witnessing heroism of the highest order. Here is the hard-fought, hard-won legacy of one man, who in 25 years amassed more than 110 medals.Brave Menstands as one of the most extraordinary military memoirs of our time.
  highly decorated soldier: The Price of Valor David A. Smith, 2015-04-20 When he was seventeen years old, Audie Murphy falsified his birth records so he could enlist in the Army and help defeat the Nazis. When he was nineteen, he single-handedly turned back the German Army at the Battle of Colmar Pocket by climbing on top of a tank with a machine gun, a moment immortalized in the classic film To Hell and Back, starring Audie himself. In the first biography covering his entire life—including his severe PTSD and his tragic death at age 45—the unusual story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of WWII, is brought to life for a new generation.
  highly decorated soldier: Young Soldiers Amazing Warriors Robert H. Sholly, 2013-12-01 The beginning of the famous Nine Days in May battles of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam and the heroes who fought them. The early fire fights and battles of one of the most highly decorated battalions of the Vietnam War. Eyewitness accounts of boys become men as they recount the riveting events of fire fights, human wave attacks, hand-to-hand combat, overrun units, survivors, sacrifice, and four Medals of Honor.
  highly decorated soldier: The Unknowns Patrick K. O'Donnell, 2018-05-01 The award-winning combat historian and author of Washington’s Immortals honors the Unknown Soldier with this “gripping story” of America’s part in WWI (Washington Times). The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is sacred ground at Arlington National Cemetery. Originally constructed in 1921 to hold one of the thousands of unidentified American soldiers lost in World War I, it now receives millions of visitors each year. “With exhaustive research and fluid prose,” historian Patrick O’Donnell illuminates the saga behind the creation of the Tomb itself, and the stories of the soldiers who took part in its consecration (Wall Street Journal). When the first Unknown Soldier was laid to rest in Arlington, General John Pershing selected eight of America’s most decorated veterans to serve as Body Bearers. These men appropriately spanned America’s service branches and specialties. Their ranks include a cowboy who relived the charge of the light brigade, an American Indian who heroically breached mountains of German barbed wire, a salty New Englander who dueled a U-boat for hours in a fierce gunfight, a tough New Yorker who sacrificed his body to save his ship, and an indomitable gunner who, though blinded by gas, nonetheless overcame five machine-gun nests. In telling the stories of these brave men, O’Donnell shines a light on the service of all veterans, including the hero they brought home. Their stories present an intimate narrative of America’s involvement in the Great War, transporting readers into the midst of dramatic battles that ultimately decided the conflict.
  highly decorated soldier: No Name on the Bullet Don Graham, 1989 The fascinating life story of the most decorated soldier in American history--a hero who rose from rural poverty to military glory, moving on to a troubled post-war life as a Hollywood screen idol. 16 pages of photos.
  highly decorated soldier: America's Most Decorated Soldier in World War II Robert W. Boven, 2001 The military career of Matt Urban, the man whose World War II medal count eventually exceeded that of Audie Murphy.
  highly decorated soldier: Sounding Thunder Brian D. McInnes, 2016-09-09 Francis Pegahmagabow (1889–1952), a member of the Ojibwe nation, was born in Shawanaga, Ontario. Enlisting at the onset of the First World War, he became the most decorated Canadian Indigenous soldier for bravery and the most accomplished sniper in North American military history. After the war, Pegahmagabow settled in Wasauksing, Ontario. He served his community as both chief and councillor and belonged to the Brotherhood of Canadian Indians, an early national Indigenous political organization. Francis proudly served a term as Supreme Chief of the National Indian Government, retiring from office in 1950. Francis Pegahmagabow’s stories describe many parts of his life and are characterized by classic Ojibwe narrative. They reveal aspects of Francis’s Anishinaabe life and worldview. Interceding chapters by Brian McInnes provide valuable cultural, spiritual, linguistic, and historic insights that give a greater context and application for Francis’s words and world. Presented in their original Ojibwe as well as in English translation, the stories also reveal a rich and evocative relationship to the lands and waters of Georgian Bay. In Sounding Thunder, Brian McInnes provides new perspective on Pegahmagabow and his experience through a unique synthesis of Ojibwe oral history, historical record, and Pegahmagabow family stories.
  highly decorated soldier: Uncommon Valor Stephen Moore, 2018-10-01 Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert U.S. military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed U.S. pilots, and other black ops missions. During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.
  highly decorated soldier: The Longest Winter Alex Kershaw, 2007-04-02 The epic story of the vastly outnumbered platoon that stopped Germany's leading assault in the Ardennes forest and prevented Hitler's most fearsome tanks from overtaking American positions On a cold morning in December, 1944, deep in the Ardennes forest, a platoon of eighteen men under the command of twenty-year-old lieutenant Lyle Bouck were huddled in their foxholes trying desperately to keep warm. Suddenly, the early morning silence was broken by the roar of a huge artillery bombardment and the dreadful sound of approaching tanks. Hitler had launched his bold and risky offensive against the Allies-his last gamble-and the small American platoon was facing the main thrust of the entire German assault. Vastly outnumbered, they repulsed three German assaults in a fierce day-long battle, killing over five hundred German soldiers and defending a strategically vital hill. Only when Bouck's men had run out of ammunition did they surrender to the enemy. As POWs, Bouck's platoon began an ordeal far worse than combat-survive in captivity under trigger-happy German guards, Allied bombing raids, and a daily ration of only thin soup. In German POW camps, hundreds of captured Americans were either killed or died of disease, and most lost all hope. But the men of Bouck's platoon survived-miraculously, all of them. Once again in vivid, dramatic prose, Alex Kershaw brings to life the story of some of America's little-known heroes-the story of America's most decorated small unit, an epic story of courage and survival in World War II, and one of the most inspiring stories in American history.
  highly decorated soldier: This Place Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, David A. Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Jen Storm, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, Chelsea Vowel, 2019-05-31 Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact. Each story includes a timeline of related historical events and a personal note from the author. Find cited sources and a select bibliography for further reading in the back of the book. The accompanying teacher guide includes curriculum charts and 12 lesson plans to help educators use the book with their students. This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.
  highly decorated soldier: Hans Sturm GORDON WILLIAMSON, 2017-01-20 There are many biographies of former soldiers of the German Wehrmacht, many of whom had fascinating stories to tell, and several of whom were highly decorated. Few, however, can match Hans Sturm in his astonishing rise from a mere private in an infantry regiment, thrown into the bloody maelstrom of the Eastern Front, to becoming a glorified war hero whose role brought him into direct regular contact with Prominenten of the Third Reich. This young man s fearless heroism in combat earned him some of Germany s highest military awards, and yet he was pugnaciously outspoken about bullying and injustice. From striking a member of the feared Sicherheitsdienst in defence of a Jewish woman to refusing to wear a decoration he felt was tainted by its encouragement of inhumane treatment of enemy partisans, Sturm repeatedly stuck to his moral values no matter what the risk. But even when the war was finally over, his travails did not end: he was held in a number of Soviet labour camps, before finally being released in 1953. Hans Sturm: A Soldier s Odyssey on the Eastern Front is an engaging reconstruction of events based on exchanges of correspondence and reminiscences between the author and Hans Sturm himself. It vividly portrays not only a German soldier s experience on the Eastern Front, but the intriguing trajectories that success in the battlefield yielded for him at home under the Nazi regime.
  highly decorated soldier: Victor Six David Christian, William Hoffer, 1991 The U.S. Army's youngest and most decorated officer in Vietnam tells his extraordinary story. Christian, code-named Victor Six, turned a misfit Army recon platoon into one of the most acclaimed units of the Vietnam War--and later needed 33 operations for napalm burns. Christian later became a champion of veteran's rights and gave the final dedication at the Vietnam Memorial. Photographs.
  highly decorated soldier: The Matt Urban Story Matt Urban, Charles Conrad, 1989 A unique narration by Lt. Colonel Matt Urban (Medal of Honor Recipient) emotionally involves readers in World War II battles on three continents & his final battle ending with a bullet through Urban's neck. Urban's book is different: Larger easy-reader print for old soldiers. Story action is on the right pages; photos & facts on the left do not interrupt reader progress. Also, a veteran can create a personal war diary on special lined pages. Readers hit the beach as thousands of sevicemen invade Africa. They share experiences with Do or Die orders, Kill or Be Killed actions, meet & defeat German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox. We join the 9th Division Invasion of Sicily & Urban's miraculous Silent March to outflank German forces. Urban goes AWOL from an English hospital. He hobbles to the Normandy front & leads his troops on the break-out at St. Lo. This earned Urban's Medal of Honor recommendation. Thousands of soldiers had individual battles to win, & their collective effort brought victory according to Urban. He also believes the collapse of Communism is the result of victories of World War II, Korea, Vietnam & current military preparedness.
  highly decorated soldier: Looking for a Hero Peter Maslowski, Don Winslow, 2020-10-08 Widely acclaimed as the Vietnam War's most highly decorated soldier, Joe Ronnie Hooper in many ways serves as a symbol for that conflict. His troubled, tempestuous life paralleled the upheavals in American society during the 1960s and 1970s, and his desperate quest to prove his manhood was uncomfortably akin to the macho image projected by three successive presidents in their tough policy in Southeast Asia. Looking for a Hero extracts the real Joe Hooper from the welter of lies and myths that swirl around his story; in doing so, the book uncovers not only the complicated truth about an American hero but also the story of how Hooper's war was lost in Vietnam, not at home. Extensive interviews with friends, fellow soldiers, and family members reveal Hooper as a complex, gifted, and disturbed man. They also expose the flaws in his most famous and treasured accomplishment: earning the Medal of Honor. In the distortions, half-truths, and outright lies that mar Hooper's medal of honor file, authors Peter Maslowski and Don Winslow find a painful reflection of the army's inability to be honest with itself and the American public, with all the dire consequences that this dishonesty ultimately entailed. In the inextricably linked stories of Hooper and the Vietnam War, the nature of that deceit, and of America's defeat, becomes clear.
  highly decorated soldier: Steel My Soldiers' Hearts David H. Hackworth, Eilhys England, 2003-05-06 The commanding officer of an infantry battalion in Vietnam in 1969 recounts how he took over a demoralized unit of ordinary draftees and turned it into an elite fighting force, and describes its accomplishments.
  highly decorated soldier: The American Foreign Legion Frank Roberts, 2014-01-15 Still segregated in World War I, the U.S. Army was reluctant to use its 93d division of black soldiers in combat and instead assigned the division's three National Guard and one draftee regiments to the French Army. The battlefield successes of these African Americans under the French at the height of the German offensives in 1918 turned white expectations of failure upside down. Their bravery and heroism gained the respect of French and German alike and called into question the U.S. Army's policy of racially segregating its divisions. The full story of their accomplishments is told here for the first time through the eyes of the enlisted men and their white and black officers.
  highly decorated soldier: Audie Murphy Hourly History, 2021-11-22 Discover the remarkable life of Audie Murphy... Audie Murphy was a movie star, writer, and one of the most decorated soldiers who ever lived. He was barely 18 years old when he was shipped off to fight fascists in Italy during World War II. As he himself would later liken it, he went to hell and back and lived to tell the tale. In this book, we will dive deeper to bring you the man behind the medals. Here is a telling of the life and legend of Audie Murphy in full. Discover a plethora of topics such as Orphaned at an Early Age Shipped off to War Murphy's Medal of Honor Hollywood Success Addiction and Arrests The Fatal Plane Crash And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on Audie Murphy, simply scroll up and click the Buy now button for instant access!
  highly decorated soldier: Extreme Ownership Jocko Willink, Leif Babin, 2017-11-21 An updated edition of the blockbuster bestselling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations. From promising startups to Fortune 500 companies, Babin and Willink have helped scores of clients across a broad range of industries build their own high-performance teams and dominate their battlefields. Now, detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team, family or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership revolutionizes business management and challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.
  highly decorated soldier: War Is a Racket (the Profit That Fuels Warfare) Smedley Darlington Butler, 2013-01-13 War Is a Racket is written by the most decorated American soldier in US history, Major General Smedley D. Butler. Butler frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests commercially start and benefit from warfare. After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Gen. Butler made a nationwide tour giving his speech War is a Racket. The speech was so well-received that he wrote a longer version as this book with the same title which helped popularize his message. Lowell Thomas praised Butler's moral as well as physical courage in telling the truth about war profiteering. This message has never been more relevant, as we see the war racket in full swing in recent history like never before in endless perpetual wars, i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
  highly decorated soldier: Low Level Hell Hugh L. Mills, Jr., 2009-01-16 The aeroscouts of the 1st Infantry Division had three words emblazoned on their unit patch: Low Level Hell. It was then and continues today as the perfect concise definition of what these intrepid aviators experienced as they ranged the skies of Vietnam from the Cambodian border to the Iron Triangle. The Outcasts, as they were known, flew low and slow, aerial eyes of the division in search of the enemy. Too often for longevity’s sake they found the Viet Cong and the fight was on. These young pilots (19-22 years old) “invented” the book as they went along. Praise for Low Level Hell “An absolutely splendid and engrossing book. The most compelling part is the accounts of his many air-to-ground engagements. There were moments when I literally held my breath.”—Dr. Charles H. Cureton, Chief Historian, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) Command “Low Level Hell is the best ‘bird’s eye view’ of the helicopter war in Vietnam in print today. No volume better describes the feelings from the cockpit. Mills has captured the realities of a select group of aviators who shot craps with death on every mission.”—R.S. Maxham, Director, U.S. Army Aviation Museum
  highly decorated soldier: The Most Dangerous Man in America Mark Perry, 2014-04-01 At times, even his admirers seemed unsure of what to do with General Douglas MacArthur. Imperious, headstrong, and vain, MacArthur matched an undeniable military genius with a massive ego and a rebellious streak that often seemed to destine him for the dustbin of history. Yet despite his flaws, MacArthur is remembered as a brilliant commander whose combined-arms operation in the Pacific -- the first in the history of warfare -- secured America's triumph in World War II and changed the course of history. In The Most Dangerous Man in America, celebrated historian Mark Perry examines how this paradox of a man overcame personal and professional challenges to lead his countrymen in their darkest hour. As Perry shows, Franklin Roosevelt and a handful of MacArthur's subordinates made this feat possible, taming MacArthur, making him useful, and finally making him victorious. A gripping, authoritative biography of the Pacific Theater's most celebrated and misunderstood commander, The Most Dangerous Man in America reveals the secrets of Douglas MacArthur's success -- and the incredible efforts of the men who made it possible.
  highly decorated soldier: If the Allies Had Fallen Dennis E. Showalter, Harold C. Deutsch, 2012-01-15 Leading historians suggest what might have been if key events during World War II had the war gone differently.
  highly decorated soldier: SOG John L. Plaster, 2019-01-01 John Plaster’s riveting account of his covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War is “a true insider’s account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if they’ve been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project” (Publishers Weekly). Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite US military unit to serve in the Vietnam War—so secret its very existence was denied by the government. Composed entirely of volunteers from such ace fighting units as the Army Green Berets, Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOG took on the most dangerous covert assignments, in the deadliest and most forbidding theaters of operation. In SOG, Major John L. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping exploits of these true American warriors in a minute-by-minute, heartbeat-by-heartbeat account of the group’s stunning operations behind enemy lines—penetrating heavily defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, launching daring missions to rescue downed US pilots. Some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the US military, from sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, Plaster’s account is “a detailed history of this little-known aspect of the Vietnam War…a worthy act of historical rescue from an unjustified, willed oblivion” (The New York Times).
  highly decorated soldier: Nine Days in May Warren K. Wilkins, 2017-06-01 Moving through the jungle near the Cambodian border on May 18, 1967, a company of American infantry observed three North Vietnamese Army regulars, AK-47s slung over their shoulders, walking down a well-worn trail in the rugged Central Highlands. Startled by shouts of “Lai day, lai day” (“Come here, come here”), the three men dropped their packs and fled. The company commander, a young lieutenant, sent a platoon down the trail to investigate. Those few men soon found themselves outnumbered, surrounded, and fighting for their lives. Their first desperate moments marked the beginning of a series of bloody battles that lasted more than a week, one that survivors would later call “the nine days in May border battles.” Nine Days in May is the first full account of these bitterly contested battles. Part of Operation Francis Marion, they took place in the Ia Tchar Valley and the remote jungle west of Pleiku. Fought between three American battalions and two North Vietnamese Army regiments, this prolonged, deadly encounter was one of the largest, most savage actions seen by elements of the storied 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Drawing on interviews with the participants, Warren K. Wilkins recreates the vicious fighting in gripping detail. This is a story of extraordinary courage and sacrifice displayed in a series of battles that were fought and won within the context of a broader, intractable strategic stalemate. When the guns finally fell silent, an unheralded American brigade received a Presidential Unit Citation and earned three of the twelve Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam.
  highly decorated soldier: The Deserters Charles Glass, 2013-06-13 “Powerful and often startling…The Deserters offers a provokingly fresh angle on this most studied of conflicts.” --The Boston Globe A groundbreaking history of ordinary soldiers struggling on the front lines, The Deserters offers a completely new perspective on the Second World War. Charles Glass—renowned journalist and author of the critically acclaimed Americans in Paris: Life and Death Under Nazi Occupation—delves deep into army archives, personal diaries, court-martial records, and self-published memoirs to produce this dramatic and heartbreaking portrait of men overlooked by their commanders and ignored by history. Surveying the 150,000 American and British soldiers known to have deserted in the European Theater, The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II tells the life stories of three soldiers who abandoned their posts in France, Italy, and Africa. Their deeds form the backbone of Glass’s arresting portrait of soldiers pushed to the breaking point, a sweeping reexamination of the conditions for ordinary soldiers. With the grace and pace of a novel, The Deserters moves beyond the false extremes of courage and cowardice to reveal the true experience of the frontline soldier. Glass shares the story of men like Private Alfred Whitehead, a Tennessee farm boy who earned Silver and Bronze Stars for bravery in Normandy—yet became a gangster in liberated Paris, robbing Allied supply depots along with ordinary citizens. Here also is the story of British men like Private John Bain, who deserted three times but never fled from combat—and who endured battles in North Africa and northern France before German machine guns cut his legs from under him. The heart of The Deserters resides with men like Private Steve Weiss, an idealistic teenage volunteer from Brooklyn who forced his father—a disillusioned First World War veteran—to sign his enlistment papers because he was not yet eighteen. On the Anzio beachhead and in the Ardennes forest, as an infantryman with the 36th Division and as an accidental partisan in the French Resistance, Weiss lost his illusions about the nobility of conflict and the infallibility of American commanders. Far from the bright picture found in propaganda and nostalgia, the Second World War was a grim and brutal affair, a long and lonely effort that has never been fully reported—to the detriment of those who served and the danger of those nurtured on false tales today. Revealing the true costs of conflict on those forced to fight, The Deserters is an elegant and unforgettable story of ordinary men desperately struggling in extraordinary times.
  highly decorated soldier: The Bravest Guy Harry E. Wedewer, 2016-10-12 As a U.S. Army infantryman in World War II, Don Wedewer was twice wounded in four days. On both occasions, he was left for dead. Now he was a double amputee and blind with seemingly no hope for the future. Yet through extraordinary determination and persistence, this highly decorated combat veteran overcame seemingly impossible odds to become a state and national leader in providing opportunities for those with visions loss. This is Don Wedewer's story. For more information visit www.bravestguy.com
  highly decorated soldier: Honor Before Glory Scott McGaugh, 2016-10-11 On October 24, 1944, more than two hundred American soldiers realized they were surrounded by German infantry deep in the mountain forest of eastern France. As their dwindling food, ammunition, and medical supplies ran out, the American commanding officer turned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to achieve what other units had failed to do. Honor Before Glory is the story of the 442nd, a segregated unit of Japanese American citizens, commanded by white officers, that finally rescued the lost battalion. Their unmatched courage and sacrifice under fire became legend-all the more remarkable because many of the soldiers had volunteered from prison-like internment camps where sentries watched their mothers and fathers from the barbed-wire perimeter. In seven campaigns, these young Japanese American men earned more than 9,000 Purple Hearts, 6,000 Bronze and Silver Stars, and nearly two dozen Medals of Honor. The 442nd became the most decorated unit of its size in World War II: its soldiers earned 18,100 awards and decorations, more than one for every man. Honor Before Glory is their story-a story of a young generation's fight against both the enemy and American prejudice-a story of heroism, sacrifice, and the best America has to offer.
  highly decorated soldier: American Sniper Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice, 2012-01-03 The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster, Academy-Award nominated movie. “An amazingly detailed account of fighting in Iraq--a humanizing, brave story that’s extremely readable.” — PATRICIA CORNWELL, New York Times Book Review Jaw-dropping...Undeniably riveting. —RICHARD ROEPER, Chicago Sun-Times From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraq War, called him “The Legend”; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close SEAL teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on Chris. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.
  highly decorated soldier: All Guts and No Glory Bob Buick, 2000 A career soldier in the Australian army, Bob Buick reveals in this volume why he joined up and describes his experiences, from training, through service in Vietnam, to homecoming and reflections on Australia's involvement in that war.
  highly decorated soldier: Bullet Magnet Mick Flynn, 2010-07-29 A raw, honest and evocative account of life as the most highly decorated serving soldier in the British Army. From the breakneck pace of an opening where he is in action in Helmand province, under fire from the Taliban, Mick Flynn pulls no punches. It's obvious that he is a trained killer. But how did it reach this point? The journey starts with his childhood, a working class lad, learning to fight and finding himself repeatedly on the wrong side of the law. Even after joining the Army he is found at fault and jailed, an experience that finally shocks him into behaving himself. From there, it is off to Northern Ireland and straight into hotspots where Mick's courage and determination are all that keep him alive. There's love too: his estranged wife, Denise, is being brought back into the picture, just as Mick tries to start a new life with his girlfriend Rachel. Can he manage to separate his ferocious soldiering persona from the real Mick? As things remain complicated, Mike flings himself into further tours of duty, in Bosnia, Iraq, the Falklands. Action-packed, shoots-from-the-hip narration from an engaging hero, this is gritty realism at its most shocking.
  highly decorated soldier: Stolen Valor Bernard Gary Burkett, Glenna Whitley, 1998 Military documents reveal decades of deceit about the Vietnam War and myths perpetuated by the mainstream media.
  highly decorated soldier: Soldier , 2019 Description: Soldier with his arm and head visible over canvas covered item. Probably Morotai, Maluku Islands, Indonesia.
  highly decorated soldier: The Aryan Christ Richard Noll, 1997 st Richard Noll reveals the all-too human man for what he really was--a genius who, believing he was a god, founded a neopagan religious movement that offered mysteries for a new age. In The Aryan Christ, Noll draws on never-before-published material to create the first full account of Jung's private and public lives. Photos.
  highly decorated soldier: Audie Murphy, American Soldier Harold B. Simpson, 1975
  highly decorated soldier: Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annexe Anne Frank, 2010 In these tales the reader can observe Anne's writing prowess grow from that of a young girl's into the observations of a perceptive, edgy, witty and compassionate woman--Jacket flaps.