Who do you Consider to be America's Greatest War Hero?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

AmazonRasta

Banned
Dec 2, 2000
2,005
1
0
If you were smart enough to realize that EVERYBODY knows that Hitler isn't American, you'd probably realize that I was joking in the first place.

Suck a d!ck or something.
 

Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0


<< If you were smart enough to realize that EVERYBODY knows that Hitler isn't American, you'd probably realize that I was joking in the first place.

Suck a d!ck or something.
>>


Dude, do you ever read any threads? ATOT is full of jackasses who jump into threads and crap out one-line flamebaits just to be assholes. As I said--A little smiley goes a long way. They're there for a reason. Use them.

Quite frankly, I think you should get a nice long vacation but I guess I'm biased considering you implicitly listed Hitler as a great war hero alongside my own father.
 

Nemesis77

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
7,329
0
0


<<

<< Excluding generals and such...

Lauri T&ouml;rni / Larry Thorne. First a finnish war-hero, then an american war-hero. If you don't know about him, look him up on Google or something.
>>



Cool beans Nemesis. Thanks! :)

Edit: Man he was a baddass!
>>



Yep, he sure was :)! They modeled John Waynes character in "Green Berets" after him ;).

EDIT: For the rest of you. Here is a brief description of Lauri T&ouml;rni's / Larry Thorne's military-career:

Then there was Larry Thorne, one of Special Forces' more illustrious soldiers. He entered the Finnish Army in 1938. About a year later, he began a six-year period of continuous combat against the Soviets during World War II After various assignments with frontline infantry units, he volunteered for commando activities behind the Soviet lines. Lieutenant Thorne's most daring exploits began in 1942 as he conducted numerous deep penetration missions. On one, he personally led a small group of men behind Soviet lines, ambushing and destroying a Soviet convoy, killing over 300 of the enemy, and returning without a single casualty.

In June 1944, Thorne's unit was employed in the frontline role as the last reserve available. They conducted a counter-attack against the spearhead of an attempted enemy breakthrough operation. This action occurred only a few hours after his unit had returned from a mission behind Soviet lines. The commander of the particular sector described CPT Thorne's boldness during the attack, "My plan was to provide CPT Thorne with some artillery and mortar support which probably would have delayed the start of his counter-attack about an hour. However, CPT Thorne's plan was to attack immediately, before the Soviets had a chance to dig in. CPT Thorne counter-attacked in daylight through dense forest surprising the Soviets and resulting not only in destruction of a Soviet battalion, but also in saving the desperate situation."

CPT Thorne repeatedly exposed himself to extreme hazards; his leadership and heroism made him a national hero in Finland and earned him the Mannerheim Cross, Finland's highest military award, (equivalent to our Medal of Honor) in July 1944.

Following Finland's second defeat to the Russians, Torni was imprisoned by the
communists as a war criminal. He escaped prison three times and made his way to
the United States where he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private.

Throughout the late 1950's, the budding U.S. Army Special Forces had been
building a controversial force to conduct unconventional warefare. These
unconventional warfare warriors had to be able to master critical military
skills needed to train and lead guerrilla warriors, to be inserted anywhere in
the world by any means of transportaion, to survive the most hostile
environment, and to take care of themselves and others under the pressures of
harsh combat conditions and isolation. At the same time, these individuals had
to be independent thinkers, able to grasp opportunities and innovate with the
materials at hand. In order to control and lead irregular fighters, they had to
understand people, languages, and foreign cultures. Most important, the Special
Forces warriors had to posses the intelligence, knowledge, tact, and acumen to
successfully transform ordinary civilians into an effective military threat to
a strong and cunning occupation army.

In addition to recruiting rugged individuals possessing these attributes from
regular army formations, the Special Forces attracted a proven lot of hardy,
versatile volunteers from Finland and other European countries through the
Lodge Act, Public Law 957 of the 81st Congress, sponsored by Henry Cabot Lodge,
Jr. Regardless of his background, each SF volunteer underwent strenuous
physical conditioning, including paratrooper training, and was extensively
tested to determine his best skills and abilities. He then received
comprehensive instruction in his specialty area.

In 1962, as a CPT he led his Special Forces Detachment onto the highest mountain in Iran to recover the bodies of an American Army air crew lost in a plane crash, and secure the classified material they transported. After unsuccessful attempts by others, his detachment's success was largely attributed to CPT Thorne's superb leadership.

Next, he went to Vietnam, he and his 7th Special Forces A-734
established the camp at Tinh Bien in April 1964 near the Delta's Seven
Mountains area, which bushwacked so many Viet Cong that it becamse a serious
thorn to the VC lifeline into Cambodia.

In a second tour of Vietnam, attached to Headquarters Company, MACV, Special
Detachment 5891, the Vietnamese Air Force CH34 helicopter on which Thorne was a
passenger crashed about 25 miles southwest of Da Nang. When rescue workers went
to the site, they recovered the remains of the Vietnamese crew, but found no
sign of Larry Thorne. He had simply disappeared.

Thorne's photo is maintained in a pre-capture photo group shown to defectors
for POW/MIA identifications purposes, yet Thorne was classified killed in
action the day after the crash. His remains were never found. Men who served
with him believe that Larry is still alive. They gather to toast his health
every year. No one, they say, is better equipped to survive than Larry Thorne.

In Finland, Lauri Torni is a national hero. In the United Sates, Larry Thorne
is forgotten by all but a few. His family believes he is still alive, even
considering he was 70 years old this year (1989). Lauri Torni hated the
threat of communism so much that he was willing to join any army to fight it.

Collected from various websites :). Not mentioned in that text is the time between The Winter War and The Continuation War, when he served in SS-division "Viking".
 

AmazonRasta

Banned
Dec 2, 2000
2,005
1
0


<< Quite frankly, I think you should get a nice long vacation but I guess I'm biased considering you implicitly listed Hitler as a great war hero alongside my own father. >>



And my grandfather and great uncle. You need to lighten up if you think that I meant disrespect with my reply. Your father isn't the only one who served in either World War.
 

Polgara

Banned
Feb 1, 2002
127
0
0
Gen. Nathan Bedford Forest - "The Wizard of the Saddle"

"Forrest is the very devil", Union General William T. Sherman wrote Secretary of War Stanton on June 15th, 1864. Sherman resolved to hound General Forrest to death. " If we must sacrifice 10,000 lives and bankrupt the Federal Treasury, it will be worth it. There will never be peace in Tennessee till Forrest is dead."

Promoted from Private to General in 13 months.
Under fire 179 times
Capture 31,000 Federal Troops
Killed 2,610 Federals while only losing 495 Confederates
Calvary Tactics studyed at West Point for many years
Rommell applied his calvary tactics to armored warfare

Sarah - Proud Daughter of the Confederacy



 

Texmaster

Banned
Jun 5, 2001
5,445
0
0


<< Gen. Nathan Bedford Forest - "The Wizard of the Saddle"

"Forrest is the very devil", Union General William T. Sherman wrote Secretary of War Stanton on June 15th, 1864. Sherman resolved to hound General Forrest to death. " If we must sacrifice 10,000 lives and bankrupt the Federal Treasury, it will be worth it. There will never be peace in Tennessee till Forrest is dead."

Promoted from Private to General in 13 months.
Under fire 179 times
Capture 31,000 Federal Troops
Killed 2,610 Federals while only losing 495 Confederates
Calvary Tactics studyed at West Point for many years
Rommell applied his calvary tactics to armored warfare

Sarah - Proud Daughter of the Confederacy
>>



That is impressive. I dont know what Lee's numbers were but thats very impressive.
 

burnedout

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,249
2
0
<< Excluding generals and such...

Lauri T&ouml;rni / Larry Thorne. First a finnish war-hero, then an american war-hero. If you don't know about him, look him up on Google or something. >>

Cool beans Nemesis. Thanks!

Edit: Man he was a baddass!


Larry Thorne was awesome. He's a legend in SF.

Alvin C. York, Audie L. Murphy and Dwight H. Johnson are among others who I would put at the top of the list. MSG Roy Benevides is another.

From SP5 Johnson's MOH Citation: "Sp5c. Johnson, a tank driver with Company B, was a member of a reaction force moving to aid other elements of his platoon, which was in heavy contact with a battalion size North Vietnamese force. Sp5c. Johnson's tank, upon reaching the point of contact, threw a track and became immobilized. Realizing that he could do no more as a driver, he climbed out of the vehicle, armed only with a .45 caliber pistol. Despite intense hostile fire, Sp5c. Johnson killed several enemy soldiers before he had expended his ammunition. Returning to his tank through a heavy volume of antitank rocket, small arms and automatic weapons fire, he obtained a sub-machine gun with which to continue his fight against the advancing enemy. Armed with this weapon, Sp5c. Johnson again braved deadly enemy fire to return to the center of the ambush site where he courageously eliminated more of the determined foe. Engaged in extremely close combat when the last of his ammunition was expended, he killed an enemy soldier with the stock end of his submachine gun. Now weaponless, Sp5c. Johnson ignored the enemy fire around him, climbed into his platoon sergeant's tank, extricated a wounded crewmember and carried him to an armored personnel carrier. He then returned to the same tank and assisted in firing the main gun until it jammed. In a magnificent display of courage, Sp5c. Johnson exited the tank and again armed only with a .45 caliber pistol, engaged several North Vietnamese troops in close proximity to the vehicle. Fighting his way through devastating fire and remounting his own immobilized tank, he remained fully exposed to the enemy as he bravely and skillfully engaged them with the tank's externally-mounted .50 caliber machine gun; where he remained until the situation was brought under control."

Related Link: Full Text Listing of Medal of Honor Citations - US Army Center of Military History
 

shiner

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
17,112
1
0


<< by the time America was in Europe/North Africa, the war was decided >>


Huh? You need to lay off the crack this early in the day...
 

Bulk Beef

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2001
5,466
0
76


<< Gen. Nathan Bedford Forest - "The Wizard of the Saddle" >>

I'm sure this is a two-sided coin here, but wasn't he a founding member of the KKK?
 

Nemesis77

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
7,329
0
0


<<

<< by the time America was in Europe/North Africa, the war was decided >>


Huh? You need to lay off the crack this early in the day...
>>



Where was that said? you could say that the war was already lost. Germany never got the initiative after Stalingrad. It was downhill from there. Overlord and other operations certainly made Germany fall faster, but they would have been defeated regadless.

But let's not turn this to another "who won the war"-thread. We have been through that so many times already,
 

Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0


<< And my grandfather and great uncle. You need to lighten up if you think that I meant disrespect with my reply. Your father isn't the only one who served in either World War. >>


I'm not going to outright call you a retard, but what I'm trying to tell you is that if you're going to make a lameass joke USE A FSCKING SMILEY so at least it LOOKS like a joke.
I spelled it out for you 3 times:
USE A SMILEY
that's it.
 

Torghn

Platinum Member
Mar 21, 2001
2,171
0
76
Al Gore,


Although he hasn't told us yet, I'm sure next election he claim to have ended: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the war on Terror.
 

shiner

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
17,112
1
0


<< Al Gore, Although he hasn't told us yet, I'm sure next election he claim to have ended: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the war on Terror. >>


Don't forget he also came up with the idea for Star Trek, invented Dr. Pepper, and single handedly defeated both Godzilla & Mothra.
 

eakers

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
12,169
2
0
the only war hero i know is laura secord.
but thats not even american infact she helped us against the americans.

*kat. <-- big up women war heroes!
 

Polgara

Banned
Feb 1, 2002
127
0
0
I'm sure this is a two-sided coin here, but wasn't he a founding member of the KKK?

Not a founding member. He was the first Imperial Wizard, a play on his being called the Wizard of the Saddle during the War. He desolved the Klan after the union army was forced to return authority to civilian control, saying that it's job was done.

Sarah
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,158
59
91
I'd vote for my grandfather. Wounded in North Africa, did his rehab and was "lucky" enough to rejoin his outfit just before D-Day.
Landed on Omaha beach about 30 minutes after the first wave. Got pinned down on the beach, hid behind a dead GI until they could move again.
Went all the way through Europe, helped liberate a death camp (name escapes me right now) ended up in Berlin.
Back in the Army for Korea, fought there, wounded there, also.
Talk about some stories, he had dozens.


I'd put in a vote also for Chuck Yeager. Shot down over Europe, evaded capture, talked Eisenhower into letting him stay and fight some more.(escapees were sent back home so if they were shot down again and captured, they couldn't be tortured into telling about the French resistance fighters)
Broke the sound barrier.
Flew missions in bombers in both Korea and Vietnam.
Possibly the best pilot ever.

You really can't say one hero is greater than another. They all deserve our gratitude and respect.





 

bizmark

Banned
Feb 4, 2002
2,311
0
0


<< You really can't say one hero is greater than another. They all deserve our gratitude and respect. >>





<< invented Dr. Pepper >>



Lemme just say, that whoever invented Dr Pepper, is the greatest person ever to me.
 

ThePresence

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
27,727
16
81
All the POW-MIA's. But them aside, if I had to name one specific soldier, I gotta go with Chesty Puller, the inspiration of the USMC today. Link
 

LoneWolf1

Golden Member
Jun 16, 2001
1,159
0
0
LIEUTENANT GENERAL LEWIS B. "CHESTY" PULLER, USMC

<< He received a direct commission. And he began collecting awards for valor. By the time he retired from the Corps in 1951 he had earned more awards than any Marine in history: five Navy Crosses, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit with "V" device, the Bronze Star with "V" device, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. >>

 

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
I'm going to cheat, and say the men of my old unit, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the most decorated unit of its size during the Vietnam conflict, campaign streamers from the Gulf War, currently on duty in Afghanistan. My prayers are with you guys :)

Heroes for our time, and always
 

ThePresence

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
27,727
16
81


<< LIEUTENANT GENERAL LEWIS B. "CHESTY" PULLER, USMC

<< He received a direct commission. And he began collecting awards for valor. By the time he retired from the Corps in 1951 he had earned more awards than any Marine in history: five Navy Crosses, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit with "V" device, the Bronze Star with "V" device, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. >>

>>



Lone Wolf1, 3 minutes too late.....