Courage in Combat

Book excerpt: These stories of military heroism, focusing on members of the Legion of Valor, offer a sweeping study of courage in service to America. Published in conjunction with the Legion of Valor of the United States of America, Courage in Combat shares the stories of military heroes from the Civil War onward. They are recipients of the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Air Force Cross. Their awards are our nation’s highest military decorations, given only to one in twenty thousand combatants. Among them are sergeants and generals, as well as corpsmen, civilians, engineers, “grunts,” and paratroopers. There are men and women, a mess attendant, aviators, spies and POWs, a cavalry scout, candidates for sainthood, and a president of the United States. The stories of these brave individuals relate personal accounts of heroism, as well as reflections on combat and war. This book also includes a short history of the Legion of Valor, America’s oldest military service organization, and an extensive list of its members, past and present. Courage in Combat explores the concept of courage through the lives, thoughts, and actions of this elite group—most of whom would say, “I was just doing my job.”