Updated August 30, 2021 12.0K votes 2.3K voters 127.3K views
Voting Rules
Vote for the the greatest real life soldiers.
Captain America is an American icon. He’s punched out Hitler and led our boys to victory an uncountable amount of times. Unfortunately, Cap’s not real, but the bad guys are. Whatever your take on the current political climate and our war all the time mentality, you have to give thanks to the men and women fighting for us overseas. This list is dedicated to the soldiers who dig into their own personal Captain America and defend old glory the best they can. Usually their best involves some rocket launcher and at least one exploding vehicle.
The soldiers on this list weren’t injected with a super serum, and they weren’t aided by a shadowy government agency run by a guy with a very fashionable eye patch. The only things they had to help them were their natural abilities, instincts, and we’re guessing a whole lot of anger. Throughout this list you’ll see a reoccurring theme: one man standing up against many to fight for something that he believes in. If that’s the description of every Captain America storyline, we don’t know what is. From soldiers who took down an entire platoon with just a shovel to a Navy SEAL who almost froze to death to save a comrade who was stuck behind enemy lines, this list of real-life Captain Americas will inspire you to give thanks to our forces serving overseas.
Vote on which soldiers you think are most likely Captain America’s real-life avatars.
On the night of May 14, 1918, Henry Lincoln Johnson and fellow soldier were on the midnight to 4 a.m. patrol on the front lines when they were bombarded by a German raiding party. When his friend was wounded by the raiding party, and his gun jammed, he fended off the Jerries with his bolo knife for nearly an hour before reinforcements arrived - earning him the name "The Black Death."
In 1944, Audie Murphy and a friend were blindsided by a German machine gun crew and he killed literally everyone in the crew after they shot his friend. Then, at the battle of Colmar Pocket, he took to an M-10 tank that was on fire to defend a trench with a .50 caliber machine gun. He was quickly awarded ALL the medals.
After rising to the rank of Captain as an Army dentist during WWII,Ben Salomon was sent to Saipan in the Pacific Theater, where he served as an impromptu regimental surgeon to the troops. While treating the wounded, his camp was invaded by Japanese troops. Salomon shot two of the soldiers outright, kicked a knife out of another's hands, and headbutted the last into submission. He then ordered all of the wounded out of the tent and covered them with suppressive fire from a machine gun that he found. His body was found the next day surrounded by 98 Japanese troops.
Alvin York was a pacifist from rural Tennessee when he was drafted in WWI. On a patrol of a fortified machine gun guarding a German railroad he singlehandedly killed close to 20 men before shooting four more with a handgun and taking the next 132 men hostage.
During WWII, Jay Zeamer was the pilot for the crew of the Old 666, a B-17 that was loaded to the teeth with machine guns. On a recon mission over Japan, the 666 encountered 17 Japanese fighter planes and a 45-minute dog fight ensued. Zeamer ended up taking shrapnel through his arms, legs, and wrists before flying the 666 another 600 miles and landing it safely.
Anthony Kaho'ohanohano was fighting in the Korean War when his platoon began retreating and he decided to stop an entire army from chasing them down. He started with guns, but eventually he settled on his trusty shovel. His body was found surrounded by the 13 men he killed before finally succumbing to his wounds.
