This post was republished with permission from VigilantFox.com

As we mark 250 years of the U.S. Army, I’d like to highlight three of the many extraordinary soldiers who gave their all for their country.

You don’t have to support war to be moved by what these men did. I’m anti-war myself, but researching the courage these three men showed left me in awe.

My team and I wrote these mini-biographies in partnership with The Epoch Times, and I’m proud to share them with you here today.

I think you’ll find their stories just as inspiring as we did.

Roy Benavidez (Vietnam War)

This isn’t a war movie. It really happened.

A U.S. soldier was shot.
Stabbed.
Blown up.

Left for dead in a body bag…
Until he spit in the doctor’s face to prove he was alive.

His name was Roy Benavidez.

And it’s what happened before the body bag that makes him a legend.

Prepare yourself for one of the greatest soldier stories ever told.

Wikimedia Commons image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MSG_Benavidez.image.jpg

Roy Benavidez was a real-life action hero.

During one Vietnam War battle, Roy was shot, hit by shrapnel, and even stabbed by a bayonet—but that didn’t stop him from saving at least 8 men.

Archival photo from the Vietnam War featured in “Vietnam: The War That Changed America.” Apple TV+

Roy Benavidez didn’t have an easy life.

The son of a Mexican farmer and Yaqui mother, Roy lost both of his parents to tuberculosis—his dad passing away when Roy was only two, and his mom only five years later.

He was raised by family in the town of El Campo, Texas, where he dropped out of school at 15, opting to work full-time instead so he could support his family.

Two years later, during the Korean War, Roy enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard.

And in 1955, he joined the U.S. Army, ending up at Fort Bragg in 1959.

It wasn’t long before he was accepted into the elite Army Special Forces, becoming a member of the 5th Special Forces Group and the Studies and Observations Group.

The 5th Special Forces Group just happens to be one of the most decorated active duty groups in the Army Special Forces.

And it was the highly classified Studies and Observations Group that brought Roy to Vietnam, where it conducted covert unconventional warfare.

The group was so highly classified that it wasn’t even known about until the 1980s.

In 1965, Roy was sent to Vietnam.

During a solo reconnaissance mission, he stepped on a land mine.

Roy was evacuated to the U.S., where doctors told him he would never walk again and began preparing to discharge him from the Army.

But that didn’t stop Roy.

Motivated by the growing criticisms of the U.S. Military’s actions in Vietnam, Roy started getting out of bed every night, against his doctor’s orders.

In the dark and surrounded by paralyzed patients and those missing limbs, Roy would crawl across the floor using only his chin and elbows.

He would struggle to prop himself up against a wall, where he would attempt to lift himself.

Roy started by wiggling his toes, then on to his feet, and, a year later, Roy Benavidez walked out of the hospital on his own.

Despite continued pain from his injury, Roy was intent on returning to Vietnam.

And in 1968, he did.

That May, disaster would strike Roy, yet again.

A small 12-man patrol was surrounded by an infantry battalion of 1,000 men.

They called for help, and Roy responded, armed only with a knife.

Roy jumped into the action—literally.

With his medical bag in hand, he jumped from a helicopter to the ground 30-40 feet below.

During the fighting, Roy was stabbed with a bayonet—but that didn’t stop him.

He pulled the bayonet out, drew his knife, and killed the man who stabbed him.

Roy then provided cover fire as the patrol fled to the waiting helicopter.

During the six-hour-long battle, Roy Benavidez single-handedly saved at least eight men.

He was shot 7 times, hit by shrapnel, stabbed by a bayonet, and not only survived, but kept fighting—and saving lives.

It was six hours in hell.

After the battle, Roy was evacuated to the base camp. They thought he was dead.

Roy had a total of 37 wounds—from bullets, bayonets, and shrapnel.

Just as the doctor began to zip up the body bag that Roy had been placed inside, Roy spat in his face to signal that he was, in fact, still alive.

It was like a scene right out of a movie.

Because Roy’s mission was classified, he was denied the Medal of Honor despite the harrowing ordeal he went through and the fact that he saved at least eight men.

For years, Roy fought for recognition—not for himself, but for all the men he saved.

Roy gave one of the most incredible speeches ever recorded—anti-communist, pro-American, and pro-responsibility.

His words continue to go viral, even today.

Wikimedia Commons Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roy_Benavidez_MOH_ceremony.jpg

In 2020, President Donald Trump proposed the creation of a sculpture garden to honor “great figures of America’s history” during an Independence Day celebration.

An executive order the following year included Roy Benavidez’s name in the full list of heroes who will be honored in the National Garden of American Heroes.

Roy’s story and the U.S. Army’s legacy are one and the same. This is what real service looks like.

Audie Murphy (World War II)

This WWII hero took on 200 German soldiers—and won.

He held the line alone for over an hour.

Wounded. Frozen. Outgunned.

He calmly called in artillery on his own position—and forced the enemy to retreat.

And yet today, most Americans have never heard of him.

His name was Audie Murphy.

And his story proves the power of an underestimated kid who refuses to back down.

A movie still from the 1955 “To Hell and Back” depicting Murphy’s time in combat. He starred as himself in the film. Universal Pictures

Audie Murphy grew up in rural Texas, where he was one of twelve children.

He was a loner with a big temper, and he dropped out of school in the fifth grade.

His father ultimately deserted the family, which led to Audie getting a job as a cotton picker as a child to help support the family.

Audie’s mother died when he was only 16 years old, and some of his siblings were sent to an orphanage.

Audie Murphy’s young self played by actor Gordon Gebert in “To Hell and Back.” Universal Pictures

Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, all Audie Murphy wanted was to join the U.S. military, but they all turned him down. He was underweight and underage.

So he did what any highly motivated teenager would do—he lied about his age (with help from his sister) and joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17.

Audie went on to become the most decorated World War II Combat Soldier.

Audie Murphy being rejected by the U.S. Navy, in “To Hell and Back.” Universal Pictures

In 1945, under heavy German fire, Audie climbed onto a burning tank destroyer and single-handedly fought off 200 enemy soldiers—for more than an hour.

He was wounded.
He was frozen.
And he was all alone.

He even called in artillery on himself in order to save his men.

This is only one of many stories of Audie Murphy’s bravery.

Standing in open fire, Murphy’s daring action singlehandedly broke up the German attack. Universal Pictures

That bravery ultimately earned him a whopping 33 medals, including the Medal of Honor. He was only 19 years old at the time.

Despite the honors, the experience of war haunted Audie.

He battled nightmares and slept with his gun under his pillow.

He took sleeping pills and ended up addicted to a sedative.

“They said I was a hero, but I knew the truth… I had seen heroes die.”

Murphy in a movie still from “The Red Badge of Courage” (1951). The veteran appeared in films until 1969. (Loew’s Inc.)

Later, Audie began a 21-year-long acting career and actually played himself in a Hollywood movie.

To Hell and Back was a box office hit.

But Audie refused to glorify war.

Instead, he wanted people to understand the effect it had on soldiers, heroes or not.

Audie was vocal about his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He even called on the government to provide healthcare benefits to war veterans and to study the emotional impact of combat.

His impact led to the establishment of the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

Sadly, Audie was killed in a plane crash at the young age of 45—five months before the San Antonio hospital was dedicated in 1973.

He is buried at Arlington, won the Medal of Honor, is the most decorated World War II combat hero, and a VA hospital was erected in his name….

But despite this, most Americans today don’t even know Audie Murphy’s name.

That needs to change.

Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier in World War II. Public Domain

And maybe it will.

During an Independence Day celebration in 2020, President Donald Trump proposed the creation of a sculpture garden to honor “great figures of America’s history.”

An executive order the following year included Audie Murphy’s name in the full list of heroes who will be honored in the National Garden of American Heroes.

You can learn more about Audie Murphy and keep his story alive by visiting the Audie Murphy Memorial Website.

Sgt. Alwyn Cashe (Iraq War)

This soldier walked into a fire six times—while burning alive.

Most would’ve screamed for help.

But Sgt. Alwyn Cashe ran back into the flames—again and again—dragging his men out.

72% of his body was burned. Yet he told the medics: “Help them first.”

What happened next was almost as unbelievable as the courage it took to run into that fire.

Wikimedia Commons image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alwyn_Cashe_portrait.jpg

As soon as he graduated from high school, Alwyn Cashe enlisted in the U.S. Army.

And he was deployed to support the 1991 Gulf War and later to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On the night of October 17, 2005, Alwyn was on patrol when the vehicle he was in hit a roadside bomb.

He was suddenly soaked in fuel. And then the vehicle burst into flames.

Alwyn was on fire—but instead of running away, he ran into the blaze to save his men.

Alwyn ran into the fire not once, not twice, but six times to save everyone.

The flames tore through his skin, but he kept pulling soldiers out—one after another.

By the end, 72% of Alwyn’s body was burned.

He was still conscious. Still focused. Still fighting.

When the medics finally arrived, he waved them off and said, “Help them first. I’m okay.”

One of the doctors later said Alwyn’s was the worst case of burns he’d ever seen on someone who was still alive.

Sadly, Alwyn died three weeks later.

During those three weeks, he never bragged. He never even talked about what he did.

But the men whose lives he saved all told the truth.

Alwyn’s heroism was beyond question.

Despite the stories from the thankful survivors, Alwyn was not recognized for his heroism.

His family and fellow soldiers fought for 16 years to get him the Medal of Honor.

In 2014, an Army Reserve Center was named after Alwyn, and in 2019, his hometown post office was renamed in his honor.

The 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, even renamed their ceremonial grounds to Cashe Gardens to honor Alwyn.

Finally, in 2020, Alwyn was awarded the Medal of Honor when President Donald Trump signed H.R. 8276. His widow, Tamara Cashe, accepted the medal on his behalf from President Joe Biden in 2021.

It was then that Alwyn Cashe became the very first Black soldier honored with the Medal of Honor for actions in the Iraq War.

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