Badass of the Week

I'm sorry but, I just have to direct you guys here! The following is a site written by a bloke who's actually a pretty well proper Historian. He seems to have a working knowledge of about everyone from ancient Persian War Lords to guys who fought in WW2 and beyond.

I suspect what he does is to research the actual stories of these people. Then he gives his own, brief, breathless and mildly 'flowery' speech ridden accounts.

I've read his entire list, since coming across it a month or two ago. Now I check in for his weekly, latest postings. It's more fun than citation seeking. I wouldn't like to rely on Just what this guy says as a primary source of informed information on 'our' subject.

But, hell; Just take a look at this one. Completely typical of the writers style. Maybe some of his stuff will even inspire ye to dig out some more 'academic' information on the people he talks about? Maybe it'll just provide a relief from some of the drier accounts of 'Actions' in WW2 ~ of which he covers quite a few.

Any way ye look at it; Wearing an eye patch is cool, isn't it? Go on ..... Admit it!

Badass of the Week: Leo Major

 

He did get two DCM's but the citation reads totally different to what is written in the link.

A bit of fun or not I don't like articles like this as they have very little bearing on fact and help to distort the facts of what actually happened, just for fun or not, I can actually see blokes in bars having a beer and blowing his story out of all proportion and before you know it if it wasn't for Pte Major's efforts the war would have been lost.

Rant over

 

Yeah Drew, but the writing style is fun...

Did he single handedly liberate a town or do I have to get the bulldozer out to take a badass mountain of salt with that one?

Do you recon the wikipedia entry on him was written by the same guy?
Leo Major - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

That was a highly entertaining read! =D

 

I'm liking this Steve. Thanks for that!

 

Se non è vero, è ben trovato!

Now google that!

 

This is actually quite epic stuff! I like the Winston Churchill entry

Badass of the Week: Winston Churchill
Well one day a dude claiming to be the Mahdi (the Shi'a Islamic messiah) incited a massive rebellion in the Sudan and started having British governors beaten down like garter snakes during Whacking Day, so Winston Effing Churchill was transfered to the 21st Lancers and shipped out to Africa to dish out some vigorous assbeatings. "The British Bustnuts" was on the field during the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, and holds the distinct honor of participating in the last great cavalry charge of the British Empire. 400 of Churchill's Lancers were chasing down a small group of fleeing Mahdists, when all of a sudden a giant group of about 2,500 dervishes came out of nowhere ambushed them. The Lancers didn't even break stride – they fucking plowed into the enemy line, despite being outnumbered six-to-one, and somehow actually managed to drive the defenders from the field. According to legend, Churchill turned the tide of the fight when he activated his special attack and skewered ten Mahdists with his magical Lightning Spear of Dervish-Slaying +2.

 

The vocabulary seems somewhat anachronistic, Dungeons & Dragons style, rather...

-_-

 

Leo Major and his 20-man platoon somehow captured the hill and held off desperate counterattacks by two full divisions of the Chinese army.

20 men held off 2 divisions? How much ammunition did they have?

 

Whenever I spot a fun thread like this I wonder how I missed it the first time round.

Thanks for giving it a bit of a bump......great fun.

Ron

 

This fellow fits the definition:

Hiroshi H. Miyamura - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Place and date: Near Taejon-ni, Korea, April 24, and April 25, 1951
Entered service at: Gallup, N. Mex. Birth: Gallup, New Mexico
G.O. No.: 85, November 4, 1953.
Citation:Cpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. On the night of 24 April, Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machinegun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machinegun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura's indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service

 

Just caught this topic now. Quite a rather interesting writing style the site owner has. I now plan to spend some time and read more of his posts.

 

A good one from a couple weeks back......

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=30045813384

 

Our Civil War was rich in badassery. I like this one, Nathan Bedford Forrest: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/nathan-bedford-forrest.html

Wounded four times, had 29 horses shot from beneath him, and killed at least 30 Federal troops personally (revolver, saber). I wager he saw more combat than most privates on both sides, let alone other generals. Sherman once wrote that "there can be no peace in Tennessee and Missisippi until Forrest is dead. He must be killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the treasury."

He was one of the most colorful, hot-tempered men who ever lived, and ferociously blunt. When someone trotted out the old Confederate line that the cause wasn't slavery in Forrest's hearing, he came right back with "Well, if we ain't fightin' for slavery, then I'd like to know what we ARE fighting for." (He was one of the biggest and wealthiest slave traders in the South before the war.)

He didn't waste time appealing to the finer feelings when he was recruting his cavalry regiment in Memphis. His recruting speech was "Come on boys, if you want to have a heap of fun and kill some Yankees." Shelby Foote, the Mississippi historian and novelist, called Forrest "the most man in the world."

The Union had men like Forrest, too: Francis Barlow, Sprigg S. Carroll, Alexander Hays (a distant relative of mine), Phil Sheridan ("the only good Indians I ever saw were dead"), Winfield Hancock. The USN had William Cushing, a crazy young officer who sank a Confederate ironclad almost single-handed in a misison that makes The Guns of Navarone seem like sober historical fact. Here is Cushing's own account: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/navy-hub/navy-history/the-destruction-of-the.html