Who was the coolest person in World War II?

[Tiplodocus]

The title says it all really but Tiny Tips has a bit of homework to do a mini-bio of somebody famous from World War II.

I'm sure his class will come up with a dozen Winston Churchills and more than a few Adolf Hitlers but I was thinking about something slightly off the wall and less obvious than the big leaders.

Ideas I've had so far have been:

Major Dick Winters (from Band of Brothers)
Oskar Schindler
Von Staffenberg (because I took him to see Valkyrie at the cinema and he quite liked it)
Robert Oppenheimer
Douglas Bader
That Parachute Regiment Major who took Pegasus Bridge (obviously not that famous as I can't remember his name but I think it's cool that he was played by Richard Todd who was one of the soldiers that re-inforced them).
Major Easy
D-Day Dawson

(OK, we might not get away with the last two)



Yes, yes. We know that War is Hell and it doesn't make anybody cool.


(Or does it)

[Misanthrope]

Oskar Schindler or my Grandad.

[SmallBlueThing]

My grandad. Who drove Montgomery's staff car, at the Battle of El Alamein.

And not Rommel's staff car, as I used to tell people.  

SBT

[satchmo]

Jasper Maskelyne was pretty cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Maskelyne

[I, Cosh]

Major William Martin

[JOE SOAP]

[mogzilla]

My grandad. Who drove Montgomery's staff car, at the Battle of El Alamein.

And not Rommel's staff car, as I used to tell people.  

SBT

yeah but was he supposed to be driving it?


got to go for my grandad rest his soul but also to my wifes uncle "spud" who also served with monty (perhaps they knew each other?) but he sounded like a bit of a nutter aside from the desert rats he also did the paras and the motorcycle courier fellas despite not having a clue how to ride a bike .

 a special mention goes to my great uncle albert who was my grans brother ...he was navigator on the lancasters but was starting to lose his nerve he wrote to my gran but as he onlyhad a couple of missions to go decided to stick it out so as to leaave with honour rather than be grounded cos of his fears (please remember im going on my mums recollection so some details are probably innacurate)
any way on that second to last mission all was well til the trip back were all the crew were lost after being shot down over the channel. that year my gran also lost her sister to scarlet fever and her dad was electrocuted at work .

my grandad also set his belgian shepherd guard dog on an officer as he didnt answer the challenge (so my grandad said ,he probably just dis liked officers )

to summarise grandad roland watson and great uncle albert duckworth.

oh,and douglas bader.

[Proudhuff]

The piper on the D-day beaches

[mogzilla]

The piper on the D-day beaches

theres a time and a place for a smoke. ::)tsk

[M.I.K.]

Captain America was effin' freezing towards the end of it.

[Zarjazzer]

Squadron Leader Bushell the "real" great escaper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bushell

[vzzbux]

My grandad.
He had a very luck escape, He was leading a convoy in North Africa when he got a puncture. Pulled over to fix it and the second vehicle took the lead. Half a mile down the track. Boom, lead took a mine full on killing all on board.




V

[pauljholden]

Barnes Wallace.

Practically all of the 'Few'

There's a great story I read somewhere (maybe someone else can find it) of a US bomber that was torn to shreds in the fighting and started limping home, then, it was caught by a german fighter who escorted it safely over to the UK - many years later the pilots met up and became friends. That was pretty cool.

-pj

[Michaelvk]

David Sterling.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stirling

[Richmond Clements]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henry_Cain

Although, I think it's fair to say that every single one of them is a hero.