Heroes from History People Really Don't Appreciate Enough

1. Ovcharenko’s Ax and Grenade Rampage Against the Nazis Made Him a National Hero

In the early days of the Soviet Union’s entry into the war, with the country reeling from calamity after calamity, Dmitry Ovcharenko became an instant national celebrity. For having killed 21 German soldiers with grenades and beheaded two German officers with an ax, he was awarded a Hero of the Soviet Union decoration.

As a military historian put it: “Ovcharenko showed wit and extraordinary courage, taking advantage of the confusion of the Germans. I think that he was a man of unbending will, devoted to his duty, land, and homeland. And striving to liberate his native land from fascist invaders by any means“. Dmitry Ovcharenko fought until the war’s final year, when he was seriously wounded during the liberation of Hungary. He died of his wounds on January 28^th, 1945.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

99th Infantry Battalion – Operation RYPE/ NORSO

Central Intelligence Agency – A Look Back… The Office of Strategic Services: Operation RYPE

Encyclopedia Britannica – Sybil Ludington, American Revolutionary War Heroine

Heimark, Bruce, University of Nebraska – OSS Operation RYPE: Cutting the Nordland Rail Line in Norway at Two Points in the North Tondelag Area, April, 1945 (1990)

History Net – Surprise, Kill, Vanish: Operatives Take on Nazi Forces in Norway

History’s Heroes – Edith Cavell: An Ordinary Nurse Becomes a Nation’s Heroine

Imperial War Museum – Who Was Edith Cavell?

Legion, Canada’s Military History Magazine, June 8th, 2017 – Hush-Hush Heroes

Russia Beyond – 5 Soviet Superheroes in World War II Who Terrified the Nazis

Special Operations – OSS Dons Chutes and Skis For a Dangerous Norway Mission