Special Forces Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez is a legend, plain and simple.
The Texas native was wounded by a landmine in Vietnam in 1965 and told he’d never walk again. But that simply wasn’t going to work for him — so he went on to join the Special Forces.
A few years later, he rescued a 12-man Special Forces team that was pinned down near Cambodia-Vietnam border. Despite being wounded already in the face, head, and right leg, Benavidez dragged wounded team members onto a helicopter. He was then wounded in the back and abdomen, just before the helicopter crashed.
Despite his numerous wounds and, you know, just having crashed in a helicopter, Benavidez pulled the same wounded troops out of the crashed helicopter, called in airstrikes to push back on the advancing enemy, and killed an enemy soldier with his knife — after the soldier stabbed him in each arm with his bayonet.
Benavidez rescued eight soldiers, and by the time he got back to base, he was assumed to be dead because of the amount of blood he’d lost and injuries he’d sustained. His fellow soldiers were zipping him into a body bag when Benavidez spit to show that he was still alive. He died later in 1998, and received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.
In all, Benavidez received five Purple Heart medals.
