Stay Connected“War Stories” is conversational military history hosted by Preston Stewart and Sayre Payne. Storytelling military and historical events from WWI to WWII, Korea to Vietnam, and Iraq to Afghanistan, we bring on varied guests to help continue to document our warriors, both past and present.
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Copyright: © Preston Stewart
24MAY1944: His unit tasked with leading the breakout from the Anzio beach head, SGT Sylvester Antolak and his men were engaged in fierce combat with German troops. On the second day of the attack, Antolak and his men were pinned down by two German machine gun positions that risked wiping out his entire unit.
Without regard for his own safety, SGT Antolak jumped up and charged into the deadly fire aiming to knock out the first of the two positions. On three occasions, Antolak was hit and fell to the ground and each time he got back up and continued the assault. The third wound would shatter his right arm in such a way that he had to transfer his sub-machine gun to his left. Approaching the German position, he opened fire at close range, killing two and capturing ten prisoners.
Consolidating his men, Antolak refused medical attention and set his sights on the second machine gun. Again charging forward through intense enemy fire, SGT Sylvester Antolak was struck a fourth time and killed.
For bravely leading the assaults that would facilitate the Anzio Breakout, SGT Sylvester Antolak would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
11APR1966: Serving as a pararescueman in Vietnam, A1C William Pitsenbarger and his unit got a call that an American unit was under heavy fire and taking casualties in need of support. Arriving on scene, Pitsenbarger was lowered through the jungle canopy to assist in the medical treatment of the wounded.
Under intense enemy fire, Pitsenbarger got to work. He treated casualty after casualty and began packaging them to be lifted to the waiting helicopters. After the first six had been evacuated, the helicopters left with a full load. As the aircraft was lowering it's basket, it came under intense enemy fire and had to pull out. The crew stayed overhead, telling Pitsenbarger to climb into the hoist to move out of the deadly battlefield. Instead, Pitsenbarger waved off the crew, opting to stay on the ground with the beleaguered unit.
For the next few hours, Pitsenbarger alternated between fending off enemy attacks and treating and consolidating the wounded Americans. Despite being wounded three times, he continued to move out in the face of enemy fire to retrieve fallen Soldiers and pull them back into the relative safety of American lines. Throughout the battle, Pitsenbarger never stopped treating the wounded or doing anything else needed to help keep the men alive.
Before the end of the battle, A1C William Pitsenbarger would be hit and killed by an enemy sniper. His selfless acts having saved countless american lives, Pitsenbarger would be awarded, posthumously, the Air Force Cross. After review, his award would be upgraded to the Medal of Honor and presented to his family in 2000.
08AUG2012: Serving as Personal Security Detachment Commander for TF Mountain Warrior, CPT Florent Groberg was responsible for the safety of a group of key US and Afghan leaders. In early August, the brigade commander along with additional US and Afghan military leadership traveled to Asasadabad where they were scheduled to meet with the provincial governor at his compound.
Taking a helicopter to FOB Fiaz, CPT Groberg led the dismounted patrol through the densely populated city of Asadabad for the short movement to the meeting. Nearing a choke point, things started to look off and CPT Groberg and his men noticed an individual walking towards their formation but moving backwards. Groberg moved towards the man to investigate and as he approached, the man turned, displaying a strange bulge in his clothing. Groberg ran forward and when he reached the suspect, identified a suicide vest.
Without regard for his own safety, CPT Groberg aggressively ran the man away from the formation tackling him into the street. As he hit the ground, the vest detonated, away from the middle of the formation but severely wounding Groberg and throwing him 20 feet. In the chaos of the situation, a second would-be attacker detonated his vest prematurely, away from any US or Afghan troops.
Four Americans would be killed in the attack but if it weren't for CPT Groberg's heroic act, that number would have been far higher. Groberg survived the blast and in recognition of his selfless act, would be awarded the Medal of Honor in 2015.
12SEPT1918: Emigrating from Mexico to the US in 1916, Marcelino Serna enlisted in the Army as he faced deportation.
Fighting with the 89th Division in the Meuse-Argonne offensive of WWI, PVT Serna spotted a German sniper engaging his unit. Risking his life by placing himself in range of the sniper, Serna took up his rifle and began firing back at the sniper, wounding him after a few shots. The enemy sniper ceased firing and started to maneuver back to German lines for medical treatment.
Quietly following the wounded sniper, Serna crept along as the sniper entered the nearest German trench, giving away their position. Moving right up against the trench, Serna began lobbing grenades into the enemy position and in short order killed 26 German soldiers. Seeing the damage being done to their peers, another 24 Germans promptly surrendered.
Serna marched his German prisoners back to American lines and for this action would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the first Mexican-American to receive the award.
05FEB1945: Serving as a platoon leader during the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines, T/Sgt Donald Rudolph was tending to wounded Soldiers when he noticed a few enemy fighters firing on his position. He maneuvered under fire to where he could assault the three fighters set back in a culvert and destroyed all three with rifle fire and grenades. He then noticed a series of enemy bunkers that had pinned down his entire company.
Crawling under fire to the first location, Rudolph charged and threw a grenade into the firing port. Once detonated, he moved to the top of the bunker and ripped the steel covering off in order to drop another grenade inside, silencing the position. From there, with covering fire from his men, he moved to the second bunker. At that point, he acquired a pick axe and once at the bunker, broke through the top cover and dropped more grenades inside, killing all and neutralizing the position. T/Sgt Rudolph went on to clear six more bunkers in short order.
Later that day, as his unit came under fire from enemy armor. Rudolph charged a Japanese tank and climbed on top under fire the entire time. He then forced open the turret and dropped a white phosphorus grenade inside, killing the crew and ending the threat.
Rudolph would be promoted to second lieutenant, would survive the war and was presented the Medal of Honor by President Truman eight days after the Japanese surrender.
04DEC2006: Serving as a .50 cal machine gunner, PFC Ross McGinnis and his unit left COP Apache for a short patrol through the deadly streets of Adhamiyah, Iraq. Shortly into the movement, an insurgent dropped a grenade from above that went through the gunner's hatch and landed inside of McGinnis' vehicle.
As trained, McGinnis alerted his team to the grenade and began to exit the vehicle to safety. Sitting in the turret, McGinnis was already halfway out and was just a second or two from being clear of the blast. However, his teammates in the vehicle were strapped in and couldn't move as easily. They also couldn't see the grenade.
Rather than save himself, PFC McGinnis removed his harness and dropped through the gunner's hatch to cover the grenade with his back. The ensuing blast killed him instantly but saved the lives of all four crew members in the vehicle. For his incredible sacrifice to save his brothers in arms, PFC Ross McGinnis would be awarded, posthumously, the Medal of Honor.
23JUL1950-20APR1953: Having survived the Holocaust after being interned at the Mauthausen concentration camp, Tibor Rubin emigrated to the Untied States in 1948 and began looking into joining the Army. Passing the exams in 1950, now PFC Rubin quickly found himself headed to combat in South Korea.
Early in the war, as his unit retreated to the Pusan Perimeter, Rubin was noted to have held a sizable enemy force at bay for over 24 hours. His one-man stand allowed for the organized retreat of his unit, saving countless lives. For this, Rubin would be recommended for the Medal of Honor but the citation would never be submitted.
A few months later, as the first Chinese troops crossed into North Korea, CPL Rubin's unit was at risk of being surrounded and cut off. Without regard for his own safety, he manned a machine gun where the three previous gunners had been hit. Keeping pressure on the advancing enemy, Rubin allowed for his unit to retreat and link back in with UN forces. Wounded himself, Rubin was captured by the approaching Chinese forces.
For the next two and half years, Rubin would be held in a Chinese POW camp in horrible conditions. Due to his Hungarian descent, he was offered, but refused to be repatriated to the communist run country on multiple occasions. Rubin was said to have saved the lives of upwards of 40 American POWs as they looked to him for inspiration and hope in such a perilous time. On countless occasions, Rubin would sneak out of camp to gather food for his fellow prisoners, understanding he would be shot on sight if caught.
At the end of the war, Rubin came home but it wasn't until a review in 1993 and then 2001 that his case was flagged for feeling the effects of anti-antisemitism in the Armed Forces. In 2005, Tibor Rubin was awarded the Medal of Honor for his incredibly brave and heroic actions during the Korean War.
30DEC1968: Acting as a platoon sergeant for a Hatchet platoon in Vietnam, SFC Robert Howard was inserted behind enemy lines to search for a missing American Soldier. Coming under fire almost immediately from a force five times their size, Howard was wounded by an explosion that destroyed his weapon.
Noticing his platoon leader had also been wounded, Howard crawled under enemy fire to recover and drag the wounded PL back to friendly lines. He then spent the next 3 1/2 hours of the fight treating the wounded, organizing the defense, and calling in airstrikes to keep the enemy at bay. Finally, US helicopters were able to enter the LZ. Howard oversaw the evacuation of all of his men before loading himself.
For his actions that day, SFC Howard would be awarded the Medal of Honor. Maybe the most decorated Soldier since WWII, Howard was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star to go with his eight Purple Hearts during his time in Vietnam.
08DEC2012: Tasked with rescuing an American hostage held in eastern Afghanistan, CPO Edward Byers and team were inserted a few hours away in Laghman Province late on the night of December the 8th. Moving over four hours to the target compound, the team was within 75 feet when a sentry noticed them. Attempting to run inside to warn the others, Byers and PO1 Nicolas Checque sprinted forward, killing the guard and staging to enter the compound.
As point man, Byers was clearing a path through a series of heavy blankets that were drawn over an entryway as bullets ripped through. Once inside the compound, Checque was shot and Byers, without hesitation entered the room where fire originated and killed the gunman. Seeing someone run across the room but unsure if it was an enemy fighter or the hostage, Byers tackled the man to the ground. Upon identifying him as a hostile, Byers neutralized the target and heard an American voice yell out.
Running across the room, with enemy fighters all around, Byers threw himself on the hostage to shield him from the ongoing fight. At the same time, Byers with his bare hands, grabbed and held down an enemy fighter until a fellow SEAL could engage.
For risking his life to save the hostage CPO Edward Byers would be awarded the Medal of Honor. He would go on to serve 21 years in uniform and would retire at the rank of Command Master Chief Petty Officer in 2019.
27SEPT1942: In charge of a series of landing craft during the Battle of Guadalcanal, Signalman First Class Douglas Munro was tasked with dropping three companies of US Marines behind enemy lines early on the 27th. Soon after arriving back at the fleet, Munro was notified that the Marines were at risk of being overrun at which point he volunteered to go back in and pull them out.
As enemy fire raked the beach, Munro led his team forward. As enemy fire intensified, Munro maneuvered his craft forward and as he manned a machine gun, and placed himself directly in the line of fire. Now attracting the bulk of the enemy attack, Munro allowed a window for the Marines to evacuate to his waiting ships. As he returned fire into the Japanese positions, Munro was struck and fatally wounded.
As his craft backed away from the island, Munro's last words were, "Did they get off?" Succumbing shortly thereafter to his wounds, SM1 Douglas Munro would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for saving upwards of 400 Marines that day. He is the only member of the Coast Guard to have received the award.
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