r/MadeMeSmile • • 7d ago

Wholesome Moments Real life captain America šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø

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59.4k Upvotes

1.7k comments sorted by

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u/Will_TheMagicTrees 7d ago edited 7d ago

This guy came to my command to talk to us once. Really sweet guy, super humble. I was already so disillusioned with the military that if I hadn’t wanted to get out before, hearing his story and seeing what the military industrial complex did to such a sweet young man, definitely made it more clear. No denying his courage, though, or what an incredible person he is!

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u/General_Guest7846 7d ago

Didn't his GF dump him because his face was pretty disfigured. That's this story or another one with a solider who lost his face.

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u/MysteriousAge28 7d ago

I believe he may be total blind? Because yeah i remember seeing him get awarded the medal of honor and he has had a plethora of reconstructive surgeries since. Also about the top comment trump was basically talking about this dude and the other MOH recipient when he said they were weak and shouldnt have came home because his appearance was intense and caused pause.

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u/Busy_Professional974 7d ago

He’s only got one eye but he’s not blind.

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u/Clone-Wars-CT-5555- 7d ago

Glad he can see and look himself in a mirror to see a textbook example of what a courageous hero is.

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u/MysteriousAge28 6d ago

Okay silver lining at least.

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u/omgimdaddy 7d ago

Different guy. One you’re thinking of was severely disfigured.

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u/Telspal 7d ago

Pretty common after WW1 + 2. It’s very sad but understandable in human terms.

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u/Lightningtow123 7d ago

Understandable? I guess. But it doesn't make it okay. Fuck those people

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u/Tandy2000 7d ago

He was like 21 when this happened IIRC and his girlfriend was like the same age. I know that's an adult but at the same time, when you are 21, you're basically still a child. It's disgusting that he was even over there in the first place and that the US was spending years fucking up the Middle East and throwing young people like him into it for nothing but its own financial interests.

His girlfriend was young and did not sign up for a lifetime of being a caretaker. She had every right to leave him and it's a good thing she did rather than being stuck in a relationship taking care of him and ending up resenting him. Leaving in that situation might seem cruel to you but it's normal and understandable. What's disgusting is the people who spend decades building a life with someone, get married and agree to be with them in sickness and in health, and then leave when they get sick/disabled. But they were both young and for all we know they'd been together for like a year. Could you imagine dating someone for a year, they jump on a grenade, and you feel like you're locked in to taking care of them for the rest of your life?

He met someone else and is married now so it's not like he missed out on anything.

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u/smokeustokeus 7d ago

I remember this story about a guy who was like back on leave whilst serving and he's like 20 and can get a drink and he said "well by that logic we send children off to war" and that always stuck with me

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u/blegoraththewretched 7d ago

Some people aren't built to be in a relationship like that. Not every soldier has their "soulmate" waiting for them when they get back home. It's pretty common for relationships with soldiers serving overseas to end when they come home regardless of the physical condition of the returning soldier.

It's actually kind of fucked up to think that someone must stay in a romantic relationship with someone they are not attracted to and possibly physically repulsed by.

Does it suck? Yes. Does it make the person breaking up a piece of shit? No, not necessarily.

Is it your place to be a judgmental asshole about people's relationships that you have literally no clue about? No, it isn't.

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u/Liawuffeh 7d ago

It's actually kind of fucked up to think that someone must stay in a romantic relationship with someone they are not attracted to and possibly physically repulsed by.

Not to mention how much it changes you mentally. In a lot of cases it's almost literally not the person you married before they left.

It sucks, for everyone. The person you fell in love with is just...gone. Just so some guy who's never so much as had to throw a punch can make a few bucks and get praised for bringing "Freedom" to the world.

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u/SteveJavieWasRight 7d ago

Falling in love with someone at like 18 is not a commitment anyone should expect to survive any real adversity. These women barely know these men. Relationships fail after 3 years of spending all their time together all the time without any real adversity. Just because something bad happens to your partner doesn’t mean a woman owes it to that man to stay with them.

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u/Most_Association_595 7d ago

why is it not ok? its hurtful but id understand

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u/DarkAvengerx 7d ago

Well if you're mad now, wait til you hear the statistics about people who leave their spouses when they've got terminal illnesses šŸ¤”

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u/Lightningtow123 7d ago

Trust me I'm well aware

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u/schubeg 7d ago

I think fucking those people was probably the problem. Unless you were volunteering

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u/winnielikethepooh15 7d ago

I went to University of South Carolina at the same time as him. Don't worry, dude cleaned up.

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u/WestRelationship415 7d ago

This hero’s mom worked with my SIL. Nicest and genuine person.

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u/LessInThought 6d ago

I mean, dude is hot.

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u/RevolutionaryFly2500 7d ago

LOL same. He did quite alright

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u/Puzzleheaded_Land446 7d ago

Yes but just looked him up bro is living his life to the fullest. Women come and go šŸ™‚ā€ā†•ļø

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u/AlmightyShacoPH 7d ago

That’s pretty messed up, didn’t know that honestly

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u/atred 7d ago

I think it's messed up to shackle yourself to somebody you are not attracted to just because society think that's the right way. You don't know the story, maybe they were in a relationship for 3 months that maybe we not going anywhere, you know that not all couples marry, right?

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u/thatvassarguy08 7d ago

Did you mean disenfranchised or disillusioned?

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u/Will_TheMagicTrees 7d ago

I did, thank you! That said, one of the reasons I was so frustrated at that point was because I am trans, and could see the writing on the wall. This was right after Trump was elected the first time. So I suppose both apply. Lol.

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u/Valentinee105 7d ago

We send poor people to go kill poorer people who can't hurt us, for the financial benefit of the rich.

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u/TemporarilySkittles 7d ago

Why don't presidents fight the war why do we always send the poorĀ 

soad

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u/NiftyNinjuh 7d ago

They leave peril to the poor

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u/blonde_bellebabett 7d ago

What long standing injuries did you notice he had? Was he wearing any prosthetics from the explosion?

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u/Rare-Philosopher-346 7d ago edited 7d ago

If you're asking about Kyle, this article Rebuilding Honor: How Kyle Carpenter Came Back From The Brink Of Death - The War Horsedetails everything he went through and what he lives with today.

Edit: formatting

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u/barbellwisdommaybe 7d ago

Thanks for the link. That was an excellent story. He (and so many others) worked really hard to save him and help him get back to functional life.

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u/ProfessionalEven296 7d ago

To be more accurate... this is U.S. Marine Corps Corporal William Kyle Carpenter. The details of his action are correct (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Carpenter). He won the Medal of Honor at 24. He is the youngest LIVING recipient of the award. He isn't the youngest ever recipient of the MoH. That goes to Jacklyn H Lucas, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacklyn_H._Lucas) - who was 17 when he won the MoH.

Both are very worthy of the award.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago edited 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/Sean-47 7d ago

Disgrace that he wasn't compensated to a better standard of living

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u/Salt_Bringer 7d ago

I mean he was. He got disqualified for avoiding taxes

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u/Vaguechicanery 6d ago

Owing is not the same as avoiding. I currently owe taxes but I'm narrowly catching them up. Doesn't help someone blew up the economy

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u/Alextherude_Senpai 7d ago

Man cant even live normally in peace

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u/redditman3943 7d ago edited 7d ago

My favorite thing about Jack Lucas is after the war he went and finished high school. He would occasionally wear his medal of honor to school. Could you imagine being this guyā€˜s teacher, knowing he’s a war hero who has killed multiple men and seen the horrors of war and you’re supposed to give him detention for not listening lol

17 Also kind of undersells it too. He enlisted at 14 and earned his medal of honor on Iwo Jima just six days after his 17th birthday.

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u/MisunderstoodPenguin 7d ago

This is basically my dad. He lied about his age to get into Vietnam, I dont think he was quite 14 but I think either 15 or 16, and became a Frog Man (the precursor to the navy seals).

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u/pieisgiood876 7d ago

I can imagine some of his teachers would have no problem disciplining him- it was after WW2. Many of them would've served, and at least some would've seen combat.

What a crazy time it would've been growing up after the war with so many combat vets just quietly living their lives again. I'd hate to be a student, I wouldn't get away with shit lol

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u/redditman3943 7d ago

Actually, he was discharged and back stateside before most veterans had a chance to re-enter the workforce. It also seems he only went back to high school for one year and then graduated. I couldn’t find any information on it, but I imagine they had him on some sort of accelerated program. Or maybe it wasn’t that official because it was 1946.

He only went back to school because he promised his mom he would. He was basically an adult in everything but name and chose to go to high school. He wasn’t there to mess around and only went to school for one more year before he graduated. At this point he was a well disciplined marine so I doubt he was a behavioral issue anyway. Not to mention he was basically a celebrity who was well respected and beloved by everyone.

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u/Wittt461 7d ago

To be even more accurate… the youngest MoH recipient is Willie Johnston who was awarded the MoH at 13 for refusing to leave his drum during a retreat in the Civil War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Johnston_(Medal_of_Honor)

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u/fiqar 7d ago

And he lived long enough to witness the outbreak of WW2!

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u/Shot_Newspaper_5647 7d ago

The Lucas one is insane. To throw yourself on a grenade for others at 17. And then to reach out and grab the second after. You have to know with certainty you’re going to die there. The second just happened to not go off

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u/ukezi 7d ago

And somehow the first didn't kill him. That was WW2, before they got body armour.

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u/Imesseduponmyname 7d ago

Yeah that's what I thought, I winder why that glossed right past that, that boy just had a ship named after him

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u/SuperBarracuda3513 7d ago

You don’t win the MOH, one is awarded.

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u/PBP2024 7d ago

He didn't "win" the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the medal for his actions.

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u/axloo7 7d ago

I was gonna say somthing.

I highly doubted the claim the op made.

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u/WiseP7935 7d ago edited 7d ago

My bunk-mate in bootcamp. Super sweet guy who was one of the few infantry guys in the platoon who was concerned with his choice of going infantry (I was just a logistics MOS.) We were both in platoon 1040 at Parris Island but lost contact after I went to MCT and he went to SOI.

I've heard in recent years he struggled with alcohol issues, which I have too but I'm doing better. I hope he is aswell.

Neither photos is AI btw. He was a handsome dude, who was extremely fit, but also short asf lol.

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u/TipoftheSpear45 7d ago edited 7d ago

No fucking way. Message me man…I was in 1040. Biggest house mouse SSgt Coffey had ever seen.

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u/phejster 7d ago

I hope you're doing better today in your struggle. Alcohol can help numb that pain but will make it worse in the end.

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u/WiseP7935 7d ago

Thank you for your well wishes; I'm much better these days. I come from a family of alcoholics and I didn't have purpose when I joined the military, I just didn't know what else to do. So, when I left, I lost what little I had and spent around 6 years drinking heavily because I felt like I'd lost what little purpose I'd found there. I joined a fire department in 2018 after college and that more than anything else helped me get sober.

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u/NuclearWasteland 7d ago edited 6d ago

Thanks for taking on fire department stuff. That'a an awesome way to be a good dude.

Very few people enjoy being on fire.

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u/Salty_Wasabi2893 7d ago

what do you mean concerned? scared?

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u/WiseP7935 7d ago

I wouldn't say scared more like what happens if something happens to me. We spoke about it only a few times but those moments got cemented into my brain when he actually got hurt.

Id been back from Afghanistan myself for like 3 weeks when he was hurt but didnt find out until a few more that he had been injured and evacuated to Ramstein and eventually to Bethesda.

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u/haveyouseenjeff 7d ago

Kinda weird they didn't bother including his name. Kinda makes you wonder.

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u/HowtoTrainYourKraken 7d ago

William Kyle Carpenter. Took 2 seconds.

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u/Omnamashivaaya 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yea I think that’s what they mean. the super low effort of the poster who’s using this guy’s story for updoots and didn’t take 2 seconds to add his name.

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u/_Bill_Huggins_ 7d ago

Increases engagement, because someone will feel compelled to name him in the comments, and then you will get more comments complaining about how they could have just named them. Then more comments explaining their motivation for not naming him.

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u/SnooBananas4958 7d ago

He’s saying that it’s probably a Bot posting this if it didn’t even bother to put his name for something like this, where the importance is who it is

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u/airwalker08 7d ago

It's taking me more than 2 seconds to write this comment. I call BS

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u/pyrojackelope 7d ago

Damn, that's what he looks like now? Good for him, he looks much better than the initial treatment he received.

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u/SuperBarracuda3513 7d ago

It does … fishing for karma was more important.

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u/Telspal 7d ago

ā€œWhat a loserā€ - Donald Trump probably

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u/stoopkid712 7d ago

Trump is an embarrassment to real American patriots. Always has been.

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u/General_Guest7846 7d ago edited 7d ago

I realized as I've gotten older that Republicans love Trump because he gave them an out to be racist and heartless in public without as much criticism. They were always racist at heart, but didn't have the courage to show it openly until Trump came along.

You see the people cheering on the crowd when he said let Iran bomb LA and San Francisco? Unhinged stuff, but Republicans thrive off hurting others.

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u/lollmaohahahaha 7d ago

Earlier today i asked a republican why they voted for trump and defended him while hes a convicted rapist and probably a big part of the epstein trafficking ring. His response was to go on a rant about how democrats are pure evil and that they "imported millions of illegal aliens to rape and murder thousands of young american girls every day." And then proceded to type out a shopping list of ICE data without a source.(not that ICE would even be a reliable source)

They are a brainwashed cult.

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u/looshagbrolly 7d ago

Oh that's what they mean when they say "they're taking our jobs!"

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/tedlyb 7d ago

I’m glad you can admit that and accept it, but I will never understand how anyone could ever think he was fit to be President in any way.

Impeached twice. 34 felony convictions. Adjudicated sex offender. Besties with Epstein and mentioned by name in the Epstein files more than God is mentioned by name in the Bible. Known lifelong con man and thief. Blatantly and openly lies non stop. Easily the most corrupt President in our history. Completely fucked up our response to a global health crisis. Puts insanely unqualified and incompetent people in high level positions. Bribed a porn star. Cheated on all 3 of his wives…

Every bit of this was known before the last election.

How could you possibly think this was the better candidate?

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u/BreakFearless8894 7d ago

Absolutely right.

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u/YJeezy 7d ago

Enemy of the State

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u/LovelyLuna32684 7d ago

From what I've heard about his smell like it's probably closer to "enama of the state"

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u/sch0ude 7d ago

Blink-182 mentioned!

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u/Kvitravn875 7d ago

He has absolutely said something like this before. He has said that people who've died in active duty are losers and suckers. Troy Knutson-Collins that died in Lithuania in March of 2025 was a friend of my fiance's mom and Trump refused to go to his funeral service after he died in active duty.

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u/Telspal 7d ago

John McCain springs to mind

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u/rubmybelli 7d ago

Trump is jealous of every MOH recipient because it's an award he can't give to himself. Pathetic pos.

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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 7d ago

the FIFA hooligan of the year award doesn't have quite the same cachet

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u/ISEGaming 7d ago

Oh he'll find a way. All it takes is diluting the meaning of the medal, or getting a former MoH recipient who supports him to hand it over.

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u/FLG_CFC 7d ago edited 7d ago

Trump gave a speech belittling MOH recipients.

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u/FatFaceFaster 7d ago

ā€œI like soldiers who don’t need surgery after jumping on grenadesā€

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u/Mild_Shock 7d ago

Very likely

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u/CriticalChop 7d ago

How tf did he survive jumping on a grenade?!

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u/GaMeRoF_2004 7d ago

Luck. a LOT of luck. And the 40 surgeries and excellent surgeons and nurses for said surgeries.

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u/ExpiredPilot 7d ago edited 7d ago

Not easily.

Shrapnel in every part of his body, both his ear drums exploded. I believe he’s blind it one.

It was probably the ā€œperfectā€ way to dive and will never be recreated on purpose

Edit: blind in one eye

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u/DunkingTea 7d ago

Sounds awful being blind in both ear drums.

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u/ExpiredPilot 7d ago

And the next morning, he woke up dead!

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u/CriticalChop 7d ago

Hey..youre on to something though.. has anyone else survived such a grenade contact?! Fkn-A i need to look this one up myself and see how this guy did it..absolutely useless info to me hopefully, but what godly curious circumstances.

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u/ActivePeace33 7d ago

Many guys have survived a grenade, but most were grenades that didn’t go off with their full explosive power. The ones we hear coming from the Nazi’s were likely due to the slave laborers sabotaging what they could at the factory.

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u/TeaInASkullMug 6d ago

Did using the helmet to cover the grenade help at all? I recall that being discussed at some point

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u/Burnsy112 7d ago

The plate carrier snuffed out most of the blast. But he got shrapnel all over his body, lost an eye, and almost lost an arm. He saved everyone around him. A handful of Marines would be dead if Carpenter did not do what he did

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u/tinyElliss 7d ago

He barely didnt. Basically survived with 1% odds.

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u/Suck--My--Toes 7d ago

I think you mean he barely did

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u/Husker8 6d ago

I met Kyle probably 10 years ago. I spent the weekend at a conference he was attending and there were maybe 200-300 in attendance so small enough you ran into the guy a lot throughout the weekend.

He was an incredibly well spoken nice guy who above all else, wanted to be treated like everyone else. He was also like 5’6 so short kings, this man is your Hercules.

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u/trying-to-contribute 6d ago

Are his medic, evac team, trauma surgeons, nurses etc all lvl 20 clerics?

That sounds like a real medical miracle.

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u/plopliplopipol 6d ago

he had body armor and "40 surgeries" were mostly reconstructive, not to survive, but that was probably one hell of a job to treat yeah

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u/No_Chain_362 7d ago

And we probably shouldn't have been where he was in the first place, I was a Marine, we don't need to be going all over the world with the military unless it's something legitimate. The USA manipulates so many governments and destabilizes regions when we fuck it up. There are too many examples to list world wide.

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u/OdinzSun 7d ago

Prior Corpsman, agree with you 100% devil 🫔

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u/No_Chain_362 7d ago

It's crazy how dumb I was back then.

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u/tempski 6d ago

But Netanyahu Trump told us that Iran will have nuclear weapons in 2 weeks if we don't send over our men to die for Israel America.

We just have to kill them and their kids first before they kill us, there's simply nothing else we can do about it.

/s

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u/CemsLit 6d ago

That /s is not gonna save you from mossad bro šŸ˜­šŸ˜­āœŒļø

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u/WangIee 7d ago

Orphancrushing machine

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u/kristhed 7d ago

Goddamn, I haven’t even noticed until you mention it, but yeah, this is the perfect example

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u/literalaretil 7d ago

Yup. This didn't "make me smile"

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u/FaithUser 7d ago

Never fails to put a smile on my face either

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u/Gilly_Bones 7d ago

Breaking the record for youngest MOH recipient should not be something that makes anyone smile, especially in the modern age. 20 fucking years in Afghanistan and all we got for it was dead and wounded. Wake up

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u/AsleepHour7763 7d ago

hey dont sell yourselves short, you also got the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the blood boiling hatred of an entire generation

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u/Final_Influence_2367 7d ago

There were more veterans who killed themselves because of war on terror than 9/11 victims

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u/pm_me_ur_aunts_deets 7d ago edited 7d ago

Edit: Looks like his name is William "Kyle" Carpenter, shame on OP for not naming him.

https://abcnews.com/blogs/politics/2014/06/president-obama-awards-medal-of-honor-to-marine-who-dove-in-front-of-grenade

Now this dude has tenacity. True American hero 🫔

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u/MarinePastor9 7d ago edited 7d ago

Could have sworn there was another person who was the youngest to receive the MOH

Edit: William J. Johnston[1][a] (July 12, 1850 – September 16, 1941) was a drummer boy in Company D of the 3rd Vermont Infantry during the American Civil War. When his division was routed during the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign of June to July 1862, he was the only drummer to come away with his instrument. His superiors considered this a meritorious feat, given that the regiment's other soldiers had thrown away their guns and equipment to lighten their loads as they retreated. As a result, he received the Medal of Honor in 1863; at age 13, he remains the youngest recipient of the award.

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u/thatoddtetrapod 7d ago

They really did give em out easy in those days

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u/MarinePastor9 7d ago

There's another that I was looking for that was a navy sailor that was 13, for the MOH during WWII, got caught for being under age and then sent to the brig I think. But the above was the first I found.

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u/WebSmurf 7d ago

Pretty sure that guy appeared at Trump’s first inauguration. He was on my flight into DCA.

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u/dg2793 7d ago

Still handsome too. Hero

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u/stanknotes 7d ago

He was good a good looking kid. Like... that is the most stereotypical handsome young American man face possibly to ever exist.

He is real soft spoken and kind too.

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u/YanicPolitik 7d ago

He had that Heath Ledger look

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u/stanknotes 7d ago

What I wouldn't do for that hairline. Bro got blown up by a fuckin grenade and almost died and had a bunch of surgeries to rebuild his face and has a nicer hairline than most of us.

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u/rva23221 7d ago

Poor guy has to go through dozens of reconstructive surgeries.

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u/Masterofchaos11 7d ago

I met him during my time in the Marines. He’s also incredibly humble, positive, and friendly. He talked to us as a group and then took the time to shake everyone’s hand and get a picture after. Super awesome dude.

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u/Gizmoma 7d ago

Always said a real life Captain America would probably be Audie Murphy, but this guy is cool as well

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u/Magikarp23169 7d ago

Much as I heard his commendation many times in my military career, I don't have much love for his many media appearances with the Trumps and those that attach themselves to said family

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u/AnatidaephobiaAnon 7d ago

Wrong Marine. You are thinking of Dakota Meyer, the post is about Kyle Carpenter who has never publicly supported Trump as far as I know. Their MoHs were awarded for two entirely different engagements and actions.

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u/Cloudhiddentao 7d ago

Oh, I guess this is the ā€œloserā€ and ā€œsuckerā€ that Trump is referring to. I guess that fits.

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u/WindpowerGuy 6d ago

All for this great nation that only wages necessary wars under their great leaders.

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u/Ordinary_Block_4131 7d ago

Glad brev survived . Takes balls of tungsten to body block a live grenade. Knowing you will most likely die to save another, insane act of selfless bravery.

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u/VaginalBelchh 7d ago

Was at his Medal of Honor ceremony both at the WH and at 8th and I, great dude, very humble, great representative of the Usmc.

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u/afhdfh 6d ago

I'd also give a medal to the doctors.

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u/AgileAnything1251 7d ago

What benefits does receiving a medal of honor do for the recipient?

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u/Incorrect-Opinion 7d ago

Financial Benefits:

-$1,619 monthly, tax‑free pension (adjusted annually).

-$1,000 monthly supplemental VA pension if enrolled in VA care.

-Annual clothing allowance.

Medical & Travel Benefits:

-Priority treatment at VA medical facilities.

—Lifetime access to military commissaries and exchanges.

-Priority, space‑available military air travel.

Ceremonial & Honorary Benefits:

-Invitations to presidential inaugurations and official military events.

-Full military burial honors, including eligibility for Arlington National Cemetery.

-Children eligible for appointment to U.S. service academies without quota restrictions.

Other:

-Lifetime recognition and ceremonial responsibilities as a national hero.

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u/singlemale4cats 7d ago

Make it 10k tax-free per month, adjusted up for inflation monthly. No one who has done something to get themselves the Medal of Honor should ever be in a position where they consider selling it, nor should they end up on the street.

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u/Decent_Pen_8472 7d ago

No medal intended for honorable conduct should be sought purely for financial reward. And besides, you thinking like this shows you don't understand how pensions work. The award itself gives X amount of money a month. The officer receives his military pension, which is certainly high because he is a captain, on top of the medal of honor pension.

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u/mastercoder123 7d ago

You dont get a pension unless you retire, and a medical discharge is not the same as doing 20+ years

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u/RogueThrow 6d ago

He retired as a Corporal. The use of Captain in the title is a reference to the character, not the marine.

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u/WhoSc3w3dDaP00ch 7d ago

It is illegal to buy, sell, manufacture or wear a Medal of Honor without authorization.

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u/Jumper21_AJ 7d ago

Incorrect at least as it pertains to wearing a MOH without having been awarded such as long as there is no criminal intent associated (intent to defraud, etc).

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/567/709/

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u/DefinitelyNotMasterS 7d ago

That's nice but I feel like if you get the highest honor possible you should get more than minimum wage

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u/Objective_Reality232 7d ago

Just to add when they get out they will probably file a disability claim and likely get 100 percent which is an additional 4500 a month for life. At least it’s enough o pay the bills but I agree they should receive more.

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u/KeyMessage989 7d ago

That’s on top of everything else, they’ll have their retirement, disability etc

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u/WhatRUTakanawAbout 7d ago

Hella benefits for life for them and their family.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/McFuzzen 7d ago

Damn that's actually pretty solid. I was honestly expecting a "k thx gl out there", which is the norm for most veterans.

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u/sl4ssh 7d ago

A reddit post at least

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u/Additional_potential 7d ago

Lifetime pension and guaranteed enrollment for any of your kids into a US military academy

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u/Z3R083 7d ago

Just upsets me so much that these people go out to risk their lives for corporate profits.

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u/MrMardyBum 6d ago

I’m more upset that this guy has his face shredded by a grenade and still looks way better than me

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u/Jeiden_Lightas 5d ago

Well, buddy, he had plastic surgeries after all

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u/Professional_Put2315 6d ago

10 cents of tin on his chest after

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u/Away-Eggplant9943 6d ago

I don’t personally know Kyle, so perhaps he isn’t this way, but a lot of these guys that join don’t even care about that part. They just want to do shit that can’t be replicated in the civilian world.

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u/Awanderingleaf 5d ago

People act like they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into when they enlist.

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u/NoCondition8257 7d ago

Guy was literally willing to die to save his friend, and Trumpty Dumpty wanted to give himself the same medal for flying to Iraq.

One of these things is not like the other.

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u/OOO0OO00O 7d ago

First of all no, and it’s not even close.

Kyle Carpenter was 21 when the MOH was awarded. The youngest was a 13 year old during the civil war. The next was a 17 year old named Jack Lucas.

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u/Fabulous_666 6d ago

They should at least say his actual name : Kyle Carpenter

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u/jreid0 7d ago

This guy is a real patriot, not some hillbilly who cheers on trump when he calls women pigs

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u/allmywhat 7d ago

He’s a patriot for going to the other side of the planet to kill brown people?

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/New-Guidance-3466 7d ago

Especially if you think about the goals he sacrificed his health for

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u/Bigiron966 7d ago

why do they never name the guy in these headlines

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u/NuclearWasteland 7d ago

So it's not bad PR when a VA fails them and they have a "accident" cleaning their service piece.

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u/Fit_Celebration7669 7d ago

Kyle Carpenter, in the hopes of pinning his name towards the top.

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u/Prestigious_Club_924 6d ago

Kudos to the professionals who kept his ticker tockingĀ 

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u/Impatient-Hydrangea 6d ago

Hope he never pays for a drink in his life

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u/art-is-t 7d ago

So many young Americans have given their lives only for people to elect a rapist called Trump

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u/Samas34 7d ago

40 surgeries??

Is that even possible?

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u/craidie 7d ago edited 6d ago

Dad told me that helped bring blood to a surgery that lasted for half a day. Crushed pelvis. They made a hospital record by pumping 9 liters of blood to the patient during the surgery. Patient survived.

For the record, human body has around 3-4 5 liters in it...

There was a suicide bomber in afghanistan and one of the soldiers that got caught in the blast got hit by 150 ball bearings. Apparently army guidelines stated that 60 of his wounds were not survivable. He had 45 surgeries and is still talking about.(Abbey gate, Tyler Vargas-Andrews)

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u/piezombi3 7d ago

I thought the average human had like 5.5 liters? I kinda remember that from when I used to donate blood.

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u/Delicious_Ad823 7d ago

They’re probably bleeding a lot during surgery, so until all the main arterial bleeds are stopped they may require a constant transfusion I reckon

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u/Perfect-Proof3067 7d ago edited 7d ago

I was at Walter Reed MMC with Kyle, I’m also a Marine who was wounded in Afghanistan. I’ve had over 60 surgeries there before I was medically retired, many other guys have had close to or over 100 depending on their injuries. 40 is on the lower side for bomb blast trauma.

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u/Cloudhiddentao 7d ago

No, you can have a maximum of 39 surgeries. Having 40 is like going faster than the speed of light, and violates the laws of reality.

Do you have any more stupid questions?

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u/W0nderingMe 7d ago

Not the OC, but I want to know how one survives jumping on a grenade.

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u/launchedsquid 7d ago

with great difficulty and a lot of effort by other people, and luck.

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u/Right-Edge9320 7d ago

I work with a firefighter that was burned over in a fire. He’s currently at 63 surgeries

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u/Extension-Rabbit3654 7d ago

With complex reconstructions, its done in parts, theres soldiers that have needed dozens of surgeries to correct their injuries

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/nikeguy69 7d ago

A good friend

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u/Imesseduponmyname 7d ago

Didn't that 17 year old boy earn one from ww2? The one that just had a ship named after him, or was that something different?

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u/EverSeeAShitterFly 7d ago

He’s the youngest current living recipient. Not the youngest at the time.

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u/OOO0OO00O 7d ago

Jacklyn Lucas was awarded the MOH at 17 years old, and it wasn’t posthumous.

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u/heliumglowing 6d ago

The man featured in the post is William Kyle Carpenter, a retired United States Marine Corps Corporal whose extraordinary story of selflessness and resilience has made him widely regarded as a real-life hero. The Heroic Act On November 21, 2010, then-Lance Corporal Carpenter was providing security on a rooftop outpost during a patrol in Marjah, Afghanistan, when Taliban forces attacked their position. An enemy hand grenade was thrown onto the roof near Carpenter and his fellow Marine, Nick Eufrazio. Without hesitation, Carpenter threw his body over the live grenade to shield his comrade from the direct blast. The explosion took the full brunt of his body armor and severely wounded him. Recovery and Resilience * Severe Injuries: The blast caused catastrophic injuries, including losing his right eye, shattering his jaw, fracturing his right arm, collapsing a lung, and peppering his body with shrapnel. * The Fight to Live: He flatlined multiple times and spent five weeks in a medically induced coma at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. * Rehabilitation: Over the course of three years, he endured around 40 surgeries and extensive reconstructive procedures to rebuild his face, jaw, and body. The Medal of Honor On June 19, 2014, President Barack Obama presented Kyle Carpenter with the Medal of Honor—the United States' highest military decoration—making him the youngest living recipient of the award at the time. Despite the immense physical trauma he survived, Carpenter medically retired from the Marine Corps and went on to graduate from the University of South Carolina, run marathons, and become an inspirational public speaker focused on perseverance and mental health.

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u/FirefighterEast9291 7d ago

Forget a medal of honor, I'd rather have my nuts thanksĀ 

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u/DEFINITELY_NOT_PETE 7d ago

This always seemed like a no brainer to me.

If a grenade is close enough where you can jump in it, you’re fucked anyway. You’re dead either way- be the hero rather than another corpse. Of course you have to have this conversation with yourself before hand- I think the natural instinct is to run away from danger.

That said- there was an English(?) soldier who did this but jumped back first and landed on it with his backpack and survived with very minor injuries.

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u/theluke112 7d ago

Bro looks surprisingly good for diving on a grenade.... the plastic surgeons did a great job

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u/Apprehensive-Emu6431 7d ago

hes waiting for the super serum

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u/iPicBadUsernames 7d ago

I wish we would stop sending young people to their death… if you vote for war, you should have your go serve.

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u/sweetkitty1066 7d ago

I've had a genuine question about this kinda thing for awhile. Could you put your helmet on the grenade and stand on it? Are those helmets strong enough to catch that kind of shrapnel?

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u/Wise_Log_9338 6d ago

Commendable service to our billionaires

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u/tremynci 6d ago

Point of information: that is not a photograph of Jacklyn H Lucas, so, no, whoever that is is not the youngest MOH recipient.