4. Aubrey Cosens
Cosens faced an enemy unit on his own, yet sadly his fate didn’t end as well as the previous men on this list.
A Canadian who served in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada during the war, Cosens was in Germany with his crew, hoping to gain control of three farmhouses under German guard, when they were surprised with a counterattack. Cosens took control of the operation, directing an Allied tank to fire into one of the farmhouses. After firing at the second, Cosens stormed in and annihilated any enemies in sight on his own, killing the majority from all three farmhouses but also taking some prisoner.
Sadly, before Cosens could even enjoy his moment of glory, an enemy sniper took his life with a bullet to the head. His brave actions, however, left him as a WWII hero.
3. Havildar Lachhiman Gurung
Any man who successfully takes down enemy combatants – with only one usable hand – certainly deserves recognition.
Gurung, a rifleman in the Indian army, set out to Burma with his unit to go up against the Japanese Empire. In May 1945, front and center of his platoon, Gurung was the target of over 200 Japanese soldiers who knew of his position. While stationed there, two grenades tossed his way were thrown back at the enemy as quickly as they came in.
But the third would prove less successful. Detonating on impact, Gurung lost his right hand immediately. Despite this pitfall, Gurung kept fighting and loaded his rifle with one arm repeatedly over the next four hours.
He shot down 31 soldiers on his own before help arrived.