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32 Acts of Wartime Ingenuity, Heroism or Plain Old Dumb Luck Worthy of the Oppenheimer Treatment

Every studio better get their cameras rolling

32 Acts of Wartime Ingenuity, Heroism or Plain Old Dumb Luck Worthy of the Oppenheimer Treatment

November 03, 2023

You’re welcome, Hollywood. We just rounded up a couple dozen wartime movie premises that’ll easily put butts in seats! Sure, some might be a bit too silly for Oscar contention (because we know how the Academy views those lowly comedy flicks), but either way, there’s an abundance of entertainment value here.

32

World War I Carrier Pigeon

Carrier pigeon Cher Ami: Smithsonian-honored WWI hero. CRACKED.COM Cher Ami was a carrier pigeon employed by the US Army Signal Corps during WWI who became one of its greatest heroes after delivering an important message to save the Lost Battalion from enemy fire. Не received France's highest military honor for his bravery and is now preserved in the Smithsonian Museum of American History as a reminder of his self-sacrifice. — Source

31

Injured Nemo defends Bob: a bond of courage in Vietnam. CRACKED.COM Nemo the military working dog and his handler Bob Throneburg stopped a Viet Cong attack at an air base in Vietnam, with Nemo sustaining injuries while protecting Throneburg. The bond between them was unique and their actions that night became legendary among those who worked with military K-9s. — Source

30

AUDIE MURPHY WAS 16, 5'5 AND WEIGHED 110 POUNDS. YET HE'S THE MOST DECORATED U.S. COMBAT SOLDIER OF WWII. In 1944, he encountered a German machine gun crew who pretended they were surrendering, then shot his best buddy. Murphy killed everyone in the gun nest, then used their weaponry to kill every baddie in a 100-yard radius, including two more machine gun nests and a bunch of snipers. In another battle he jumped into a burning М-10 tank destroyer and used it to annihilate every enemy in sight, then leaped clear before it exploded. All while he had malaria. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

World War I CRACKED.COM When Russia exited World War I, they scheduled a peace conference, and the Bolsheviks made a point of bringing along a soldier, a sailor, and an urban worker to hammer home that communism was about the common people. But the politicians were on their way to the train station when they realized they'd forgotten to bring a peasant. So they grabbed a random elderly guy in ratty clothes and brought him along to meet royalty. — Source

28

World War II CRACKED.COM Ice cream rations were more coveted than cigarettes and fresh socks. Look at the Battle of the Coral Sea from 1942. While engaging the Japanese, the USS Lexington sank. But before the crew abandoned ship, they carried out one important task: They ate all the ice cream. The men broke into the freezer and scooped all the ice cream into their helmets, licking them clean before evacuating at the last minute. — Source

27

The American Revolution CRACKED.COM All mainstream accounts of the American Revolution dramatically downplay France's contributions. The truth is, the 13 colonies would never have earned their independence without French intervention. The whole American Revolution was essentially a proxy war between Britain and France. To the French, America was nothing but another theater in their grand feud against Britain. — Source

26

Muslims in World War I

AROUND 400,000 MUSLIMS FOUGHT FOR BRITAIN IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR. The Muslim role in the War to End All Wars is rarely discussed, but many fought and died for the victory of the Allies. The Indian Army consisted of 1.3 million soldiers, among them were 800,000 Hindu soldiers, 100,000 Sikhs and 400,000 Muslims. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Bin Laden's Death CRACKED.COM After Navy Seals raided Osama bin Laden's compound and killed him, they needed to authenticate the body. The first point of identification was checking bin Laden's most distinguishable feature: his freakish 6'6 height. Except they hadn't brought a tape measure. The soldiers quickly improvised. One of them was about six foot, so they had him lie down next to bin Laden on the ground. — Source

24

PUNISHED HEROES AMERICA'S FIRST WHISTLEBLOWERS. In 1777, Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven reported their commanding officer, Commodore Essek Hopkins, for torturing British prisoners. They were dismissed from the Navy and imprisoned for one year, until Congress enacted the nation's first whistleblower protection law. CRACKED — Source

23

PUNISHED HEROES STEPHEN JIN-WOO KIM REPORTED NUCLEAR TESTS. In the U.S. State Department, he revealed that North Korea planned to respond to UN sanctions with a nuclear test. Не gave the story to Fox News, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison since the report also revealed some classified U.S. information. CRACKED — Source

22

PUNISHED HEROES JOHN KIRIAKOU EXPOSED A TORTURE PROGRAM. In 2007, he was the first U.S. government official to verify that the CIA used waterboarding as an interrogation method on military detainees. Не was charged under the Espionage Act and sentenced to 30 months in prison. CRACKED — Source

21

PUNISHED HEROES CHELSEA MANNING EXPOSED THE U.S. MILITARY. While serving in Iraq as an intelligence analyst, she gave hundreds of thousands of top secret documents to WikiLeaks revealing the wanton deaths of Iraqi civilians, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. CRACKED — Source

20

LYUDMILA PAVLICHENKO WAS A UKRAINE-BORN SNIPER FOR THE USSR. AND NOBODY WANTED TO GIVE HER THE JOB. When Pavlichenko signed up for the army, officials tried to persuade her to be a nurse. They wouldn't take girls in the army, so I had to resort to all kinds of tricks to get in, she explained. She finally persuaded officials to give her a field audition with a Red Army unit defending a hill. She is now the highest-scoring female sniper on record, with a count of 309 confirmed kills, 36 of which were enemy snipers. CRACKED.COM http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/eleanor-roosevelt-and-the-soviet-sniper-23585278/no-ist — Source

19

MATT L. URBAN IS THE MOST DECORATED SOLDIER IN US HISTORY. HIS ENEMIES CALLED HIM THE GHOST. Captain Urban earned the nickname from his German enemies during WWII for his quirky habit of coming back from what should have been his death. When injuries to both legs landed him in the hospital, he walked out (barely) and rejoined his unit, providing them machine gun cover as they climbed into a tank and rained fire and death on the enemy. Не also survived shrapnel to the chest and a bullet to the neck. CRACKED.COM http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3031/urban-matt.php — Source

18

BENJAMIN F. WILSON SERVED IN THE ARMY IN THE KOREAN WAR. AND НЕ DEFENDED HELL HILL WITH A SHOVEL. Major Wilson was shot in the leg while defending the hill, yet he charged on and took out seven more enemies. His men decided it was time for him to get some medical attention so they hustled him onto a stretcher, but he wasn't having it. Не headed back up the hill alone, and immediately took out three more Chinese soldiers. When one of them yanked Wilson's gun from his hand, he grabbed his entrenching shovel and took out four more — Source

17

BENJAMIN L. SALOMON SERVED AS A FIELD DENTIST DURING WWII. Parts AND WHEN THINGS GOT REAL, НЕ WENT RAMBO. While Captain Salomon was treating the wounded, Japanese forces overwhelmed his field hospital. When four soldiers stormed the tent, Salomon shot two of them outright, kicked a knife out of another's hands, and headbutted the last into submission. Then he provided machine gun cover as his patients escaped. When Americans retook the area the next day they found Salomon dead, along with nearly 100 dead enemy troops. CRACKED.COM http://alchetron.com/Ben-L-Salomon-1382992-W — Source

16

DIRK J. VLUG SERVED IN THE PHILLIPINES DURING WORLD WAR II. AND НЕ TOOK OUT 5 TANKS, ON HIS OWN. When Vlug's unit encountered a group of Japanese tanks, he dashed into the open, scooped up a rocket launcher and went to work. Alone, and under the metal hellstorm of machine gun fire, he took out that first tank with one shot. When the occupants of the second tank dismounted to attack him, Vlug shot them with his rifle until they climbed back in, then blasted the second tank with a rocket. Then did it three more times. CRACKED.COM http://www.findagrave.com/ogi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7959901 — Source

15

MILUNKA SAVIC TOOK HER BROTHER'S PLACE IN THE SERBIAN ARMY. AND SHE WAS A RIDICULOUS BADASS. During the Battle of Kolubara, Corporal Savic ran through no-man's land between the fronts throwing hand grenades, jumped into the Austrian trenches with a bayonet, and captured 20 soldiers. During the Battle of Crna Reka, she went to the nearby forest on a bathroom break, but then mistakenly returned to the wrong trench. She realized that she was among 23 Bulgarian soldiers including officers, so she captured them. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/NLYz6aWz1cs — Source

14

WWII hero dog: Saving lives with style. GRACKED.COM Chips was a heroic dog during WWII, who saved the lives of many U.S. soldiers and earned prestigious awards such as a Purple Heart and Silver Star for his bravery in battle. — Source

13

Marine mare defies odds, honored with three monuments. CRACKED.COM The Uphill Battle monument in Virginia memorializes Staff Sergeant Reckless, a United States Marine mare who was purchased from a stable boy during the Korean War and became famous for her bravery while carrying ammunition to the front lines. Three monuments have been dedicated in her honor since 2013. — Source

12

Alerting his troops: Jackie the Baboon's skills increase morale and protect soldiers. CRACKED COM The 3rd South African Infantry Brigade in WWI had an unusual mascot, Jackie the Baboon, who wore a uniform and marched with them. Не was also able to alert his companions of enemy attacks and boosted morale among the soldiers. — Source

11

The Slug Brigade

Mustard gas? No problem for the Slug Brigade. CRACKED.COM Paul Bartsch's discovery of slugs' sensitivity to mustard gas in WWI led the U.S. military to use them as a warning system against toxic fumes, saving thousands of lives and becoming known as the Slug Brigade. — Source

10

Military vs. Emus: Epic battle ensues. CRACKED.COM In 1932, the Australian military attempted to cull a large population of emus in Western Australia with machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition; however they were unsuccessful due to the birds' quick movements and ability to withstand bullets. — Source

9

Heroic pigeon saves 100 soldiers from bombing. Time Gellantic GRACKED.COM G.I. Joe, a member of the United States Army Pigeon Service in World War II, flew 20 miles in 20 minutes to save at least 100 Allied soldiers from being bombed by their own planes and was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for his heroic efforts. — Source

8

TVDINNER Swanson QUICK FROZEN POT DINNER BEEF ROAST un POTATORI PERS - JUST HEAT AND DGNE! A .. - - = THE a Surplus food left over after World War II was sold in supermarkets, and kickstarted the convenience food industry - canned crap, frozen crap and later microwavable crap all boomed as a result. No war, no Hot Pockets. CRACKED — Source

7

The USSR

may ИНИР PC дом vn YO и СТРИТ СТРИ 44 АВЕНЮ z11. adedendom УЛ 10 гражд обороне + ии. внутр. дел резерв C 61 A 2090000 54 связи акодемия УЛ 23 СТРИТ 5,5 E комибста no остии атом знера 3 УЛ НОНСТИТЮЩЕН АВЕНЮ O Теодор M мин труда архив tnp no бела 36 льт ин. ветеранов MCx ML зви войны музей 59 201 M L - ОТРИТ УЛ ВАШИНГОН ДРАЙЕ $ пам Y -V. M M & Ваш Циетону пам. Линкольнука ٠٧ музе муз en УЛИЦА MUH ит ИНДЕПЕНДЕНС-А СТРИТ Кутц 7 3,0 приливный комитет 3,4 по печати УЛ УЛ ДИ CT — Source

6

The Volkswagen Beetle was designed under Nazi orders as the people's car, but in 1946, the factory entered British hands. Beetles were exported to the U.S., and thanks to some clever advertising, ended up becoming an iconic part of the swinging 1960s. CRACKED — Source

5

Operation Paperclip, in the years following World War II, involved bringing 1,500 Nazi scientists to the U.S. to use their intelligence for non-Hitlery purposes. One, Wernher von Braun, developed the Saturn V rocket - no Saturn V, no walking on the Moon. CRACKED — Source

4

The Civil War

There was a Civil War veterans' reunion in 1938 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the 75th anniversary of the battle, and about 1800 vets from both sides attended - the youngest was 88 years old, while the oldest was 118 (so he claimed, anyway). CRACKED.COM — Source

3

CRACKED.COM A huge battle was fought to stop a strike. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest on American soil since the Civil War. 10,000 striking coal miners in West Virginia exchanged fire with 3,000 strikebreakers, police officers, and troops. The miners were defeated after five days. — Source

2

The French army became the first to use camouflage during WWI. CRACKED.COM The word 'camouflage' comes from the French verb 'to make up for the stage'. Most camouflage was originally used on guns and vehicles. — Source

1

A Finnish soldier during WWII was found after a week in a ditch weighing 94 pounds. Aimo Koivunen overdosed on meth, got injured by a landmine, survived for a week in a ditch by eating pine cones, skied 250 miles and was found with a heart rate of 200bpm. Не lived for another 45 years. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

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