Profiles in Courage Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

WW2 – The Heroes Of Eager Beavers

In 1943, several U.S. airmen went on a suicide mission. Two men, who were part of Eager Beavers, on the mission were awarded a Medal of Honor - the only time in WWII that two men received the same award for the same engagement. Interestingly, their careers didn't start out well. Biography of Lt Col Jay Zeamer Jr. Jay Zeamer, Jr. got his wings in 1941 at Langley Field. All his classmates became pilots and got their own planes and crews, but not Zeamer. Although he could fly and had a passion...

PFC Shizuya Hayashi, U.S. Army (1942 – 1945)

Profiles in Courage, World War II

During the Italian Campaign of World War II, German troops were faced with a sight they had never expected: Japanese-American soldiers. These troops were members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, which was comprised entirely of Nisei (children of Japanese Immigrants) troops. What makes this story all the more amazing is knowing how these troops, and their families, had been treated by a scared and hateful populace at home. Their families, friends, and neighbors were being imprisoned by the...

Brig Gen James Robinson Risner, U.S. Air Force (1943 – 1976)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

James Robinson Risner was a man of humble origins, son of an Arkansas sharecropper, educated at secondary school level, not particularly ambitious, a common man save for two things: He could fly the hell out of an airplane; and, under terribly difficult circumstances as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam, he rose to a level of heroic leadership matched by few men in American military history. Born in Mammoth Springs, Arkansas on Jan. 16, 1925 and raised in a religious family, Robinson Risner...

Staff Sgt. Edward Carter Jr., U.S. Army (1932-1949)

Profiles in Courage, World War II

Biography of Edward Carter Jr. A career Army noncommissioned officer, Edward Carter Jr. was born May 26, 1916, in Los Angeles, California. He was the son of missionary parents who went to the Far East and finally settled in Shanghai, China. Edward ran away from this home when he was a young teen to begin a military exodus. However, it was not to be an ordinary journey as his material and spiritual paths intertwined. His first tour was short-lived, yet not too short to prevent the...

Sgt Pete Lemon, U. S. Army (1968-1972)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

The tall man in an immaculate business suit looked across the crowded classroom at more than a hundred young faces. He was an imposing figure, over six feet tall and broad of shoulder. Yet he spoke with a quiet gentleness that captivated the children. At the back of the room stood an impatient cameraman from the local TV station. He had come to interview a rare hero, a living Medal of Honor recipient. It seemed, however, that Peter Lemon was more interested in talking to the children than in...

Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer

Civil War, Profiles in Courage

The Sand Creek Massacre, occurring on November 29, 1864, was one of the most infamous incidents of the Indian Wars. Initially reported in the press as a victory against a bravely fought defense by the Cheyenne, later eyewitness testimony conflicted with these reports, resulting in a military and two Congressional investigations into the event. Two of those eyewitnesses were cavalry officers Capt. Silas Soule and Lt. Joseph Cramer who had the courage to order their men not to take part in the...

Maj Kurt Chew-Een Lee, U.S.M.C. (1945-1968)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War, World War II

Kurt Chew-Een Lee is believed to have been the first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps, rising through the ranks beginning his career from World War II to the Vietnam War. Lee was born in 1926 in San Francisco and grew up in Sacramento, California. Lee's father was M. Young Lee, born in Guangzhou (Canton), emigrating in the 1920s to the Territory of Hawaii and then California. Once established in America, M. Young Lee returned to China to honor an arranged marriage. He brought...

WW1 Fighter Ace – Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker

Profiles in Courage, World War I

The American Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a successful race car driver, fighter pilot, an airline executive, wartime advisor, and elder statesman. Few aces achieved so much in so many different lifetime roles. His twenty-six aerial victories came after only two months of combat flying, a spectacular achievement. Eddie Rickenbacker Set a Speed Record in a Blitzen Benz His family name was originally spelled "Reichenbacher," anglicized to its more familiar form when the U.S. entered World...

Col Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, U.S.M.C.

Profiles in Courage, World War II

Stories of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington are legion, many founded in fact, including how he led the legendary Black Sheep squadron, and how he served in China as a member of the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers. He spent a year and a half as a Japanese POW, was awarded the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross, and was recognized as a Marine Corps top ace. Always hard-drinking and hard-living, Pappy's post-war life was as turbulent as his wartime experiences. Biography of Gregory "Pappy"...

The Most Decorated Enlisted Sailor in Navy History

Profiles in Courage, World War II

In the history of the United States Navy, only seven men have earned all of the big three valor awards: Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, and Silver Star. Six were World War II officers, including one aviator. The seventh was James Elliott "Willy" Williams - considered the most decorated enlisted man in the history of the Navy. Biography of James Williams Williams, a Cherokee Indian, was born November 13, 1930, in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Two months later he moved with his parents to Darlington,...

Sgt Alvin York – An Unlikely Hero

Profiles in Courage, World War I

Alvin Cullum York was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nests, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers, and capturing 132 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was also a conscientious objector. Biography of Alvin Callum York York was born on December 13, 1887 to William and Mary York of Pall Mall, Tennessee and raised in a two-room log cabin in a rural backwater in the northern section...

Maj Bernie Fisher – First Air Force MOH

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

A separate design for a version of the Medal of Honor for the U.S. Air Force was created in 1956, authorized in 1960, and officially adopted on April 14, 1965. Previously, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Air Force received the Army version of the medal. The first person to receive the new U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor was Major Bernie Fisher during the Battle of A Shau Valley in March 1966. He also received a Silver Star during the same battle. The...

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Profiles in Courage

WW2 – The Heroes Of Eager Beavers

PFC Shizuya Hayashi, U.S. Army (1942 – 1945)

Brig Gen James Robinson Risner, U.S. Air Force (1943 – 1976)

Staff Sgt. Edward Carter Jr., U.S. Army (1932-1949)

Sgt Pete Lemon, U. S. Army (1968-1972)

Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer

Maj Kurt Chew-Een Lee, U.S.M.C. (1945-1968)

WW1 Fighter Ace – Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker

Col Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, U.S.M.C.

The Most Decorated Enlisted Sailor in Navy History

Sgt Alvin York – An Unlikely Hero

Maj Bernie Fisher – First Air Force MOH

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