As the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men of the same unit earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism. Maurice “Footsie” Britt, a former professional football player, became the first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Medal of Honor.

 

Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has lived in the United States since 1994. His forthcoming book is “Patton’s Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in World War II” (2024).

 

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