The first non-posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross in the First World War, Private Sidney Godley manned a machine gun alone to cover the retreat of his unit from the Mons Canal in 1914. Grievously wounded, he was captured by the Germans and presumed dead.

On of the first American heroes of the Second World War, “Dorie” Miller was a mess steward who took one of the anti-aircraft guns of the USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor, his actions making him the first black sailor to receive the Navy Cross.