# 5 Soldiers Who Were More Badass Than Rambo (Without Guns) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423 "2014-07-30T15:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/1 "2014-07-30T15:31:53Z")
I quoted only one of 5 incredible acts of heroism and battlefield valor. Men who found themselves out of ammo and fighting with improvised weapons. Oorah! [http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns\_p2/?wa\_user1=3&wa\_user2=History&wa\_user3=blog&wa\_user4=feature\_module](http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns_p2/?wa_user1=3&wa_user2=History&wa_user3=blog&wa_user4=feature_module) > [@](#): > > Kaho’ohanohano was fighting in the Korean War, trying to stop North Korea from becoming All Korea, when he ran into a minor problem: All his friends were retreating, and he had to stop an entire army from chasing them down. He did this via the traditional methods, aka “every gun at hand.” But eventually those ran out, and he was also shot repeatedly. When the North Koreans massed for their final charge, Kaho’ohanohano had only one weapon left: his entrenching shovel. > > The world will never know exactly what happened that fateful day, but when American forces recovered the position, they found Tony’s body, shovel in hand, surrounded by 13 men he’d beaten to death before deciding to take the counsel of his many bullet wounds and die. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/2 "2014-07-30T15:47:43Z")
What I find amazing(and appalling) is that the application for the Medal of Honor for Kaho’ohanohano was _denied_. Took until 2009 for him to be properly recognized. What’s the definition of a Ghurka hand grenade? A land mine. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/3 "2014-07-30T16:02:23Z")
I’ve been Googling the 5 men’s names to read more about them and the military awards they earned. Men like that have a mental toughness and drive that’s quite unique. They were either going to survive or die killing as many of the enemy as possible. Most of the guys on Cracked’s list survived in spite of the odds against them. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/4 "2014-07-31T04:24:39Z")
What no reference to [Mad Jack Churchill?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill) Who fought most of WW2 with a longbow and sword? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/5 "2014-07-31T12:46:20Z")
Not one mention of cotton Hill who beat several Japanese soldiers to death with his own shins. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/6 "2014-07-31T22:57:34Z")
Gallantry and badassery in battle goes on forever. There’s always Rodger Young, from WWII > **[Rodger Young](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodger_Wilton_Young)** > > Rodger Wilton Young (April 28, 1918 – July 31, 1943) was a United States Army infantryman from Ohio during World War II. Born in the small town of Tiffin, Ohio, in 1932, Young suffered a sports injury in high school that led to his becoming nearly deaf and blind. Despite this, Young was able to pass the exams necessary to enter the Ohio National Guard. Soon after the United States entered World War II, Young's company was activated as part of the U.S. Army. Soon after his activation, in 1943, ... I first heard about him when I read the **book** _Starship Troopers_, by Robert Heinlein. There’s a rumor a movie was made from the book, but I refuse to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/7 "2014-08-01T01:13:28Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > What no reference to [Mad Jack Churchill?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill) Who fought most of WW2 with a longbow and sword? Because [at least one](http://www.cracked.com/article_17019_5-real-life-soldiers-who-make-rambo-look-like-pussy.html) previous installment of “Cracked’s badass soldiers” included him. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-soldiers-who-were-more-badass-than-rambo-without-guns/694423/8 "2014-08-01T05:45:18Z")
I was in the Marines in Vietnam in 1969. I met a guy named Tom Ferguson when I first got to my company (Golf Co, 2nd Bn, 7th Marines). He’d spent two years in the Army in Vietnam, got out for a year or so and decided he missed the excitement. He’d have gone back in the Army but they wouldn’t guarantee him Vietnam. Just a very normal sized guy. Almost legally blind without his glasses. He virtually never cursed (which, trust me here, really, really stood out), read college level textbooks for entertainment, had an almost insane level of personal courage and expectation. He went from Pfc to Sgt in six months. On August 29, 1969 we were ambushed. He crawled out to where a couple of guys were wounded to help them. A grenade landed beside him and tore up his upper arm. A little latter a friend crawled up to me to tell me, “Your friend Ferguson was killed.” But after a few minutes I heard he was only wounded. Things slowed down so I moved over to where the wounded were and found him. He was in bad shape. So I tried to cheer him up telling him he’d be okay. He was in shock and shot full of morphine but he almost laughed at me. He said, and this is exactly what he said, “I’ve been over here a long time and I’ve seen a lot come and go, and I’m going.” This took a while because he was in a lot of pain. He paused a bit and said, \*\*“This is just the way I want to go.” \*\* We talked a bit more, I’m still trying to get his spirits up, I said I’d write and what was his home address. It’s almost 45 years now but I still remember, 8291 Appoline, Detroit, MI. He didn’t die. I did write and he wrote back. In early 1971 I got a letter from him. He was now a SSgt and back in Vietnam. I’ve never met anyone like him and never expect to again. An odd man, but no whiner.