35 Absolute Badasses You Never Knew About – Part 4

31Airey Neave

Airey Neave

Airey Neave was a British soldier during WW2 who was captured by Germans and managed to escape POW camps twice and was sent to Oflag IV-C Castle for problematic prisoners. He once tried to escape by painting his uniform to look like a German uniform and managed to walk out the front door but was captured again. Five months later, he wore a fake German uniform made out of cardboard and cloth and pretended to be a German officer and managed to escape the castle. He then made it to Switzerland pretending to be a Dutch worker with papers and finally managed to get back to Britain.


32Tom R. Bennett

Tom R. Bennett

In 1960, a Russian terrorist armed with a bomb tried to hijack Trans Australia flight 408. Co-pilot Tom R. Bennett punched him in the face and ripped the wires off the bomb saving 49 lives.


33Lawrence Oates

Lawrence Oates

On Scott’s doomed Antarctic expedition, Lawrence Oates sacrificed his life when his ill health began to compromise his companion’s chances of survival. Walking into a blizzard he said, “I am going outside and maybe some time.” Scot said it was the “act of a brave man and an English gentleman.”


34Douglas Bader

Douglas Bader

RAF pilot Douglas Bader lost his legs after his plane crashed while doing a zero altitude barrel roll. He was fitted with artificial legs, learned to walk again, became a racecar driver, became an expert golfer, a decent tennis player and finally a fighter pilot again. During WW2, he quickly learned that he could sustain more G-forces than an average pilot because he had no legs. Before his plane crashed and being captured by Germans, he smashed 22 German airplanes, with another six probable kills.


35Herbert K. Pililaau

Herbert K. Pililaau

U.S. Medal of Honor recipient Herbert K. Pililaau during the Korean War voluntarily held his ground when ordered to retreat. He fired his automatic weapon into the ranks of assailants, threw all his grenades and, with ammunition exhausted, closed with the foe in hand-to-hand combat, courageously fighting with his trench knife and bare fists until finally overcome and mortally wounded. When the position was subsequently retaken; more than10 enemy dead were counted in the area he had so valiantly defended.

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