big fan of the show, but gotta say I'm a little disappointed, as were a few others, at how this was presented as a myth at all. To even insinuate that such a thing is a birthing of Hollywood is insulting to the brave men who've actually sacrificed themselves to save their friends. A few mentions of these real life heroes would have been nice.
I have only one problem with this segment. It is not a myth but a fact of history. Hollywood took real history and used it in a number of movies. There have been a number of Soldiers and Marines who have laid their lives on the line to save their friends. In only about 3 minutes of searching I found 6 names on the offical web site for the Medal of Honor. http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm They are Monroe, James H., Murray, Robert C., Nash, David, Olive, Milton L. III, Olson, Kenneth L., and Dunham, Jason L. That was just after a short search in 2 sections of the web page I listed.
I don't mind seeing things getting blown up, but I do mind not recognizing the real heroes who have sacrifice their lives thereby saving their friends.
This is deemed a Hollywood myth only because the Mythbusters’ research team either isn’t very thorough or imaginative.
A quick Google search turn up at least 12 soldiers who were awarded the Medal of Honor for just this specific act during Vietnam alone. Part of US Interstate 405 in the Los Angeles area was named for Sadao Munemori who also performed this act during World War II and was a posthumous MOH recipient. Jack Lucas, Lewis Bausell, Richard Sorenson, and Richard Bush were also WWII recipients. (Richard Bush survived his wounds.) I found all these names with a cursory search. It obviously is not an uncommon act of selflessness and bravery. Most recently, Jason Dunham was a posthumous recipient for his actions in Iraq.
For the sake of justifying an experiment, one could probably argue that none of these MOH winners’ actions saved lives, but common sense dictates that that is not the testimony of MOH surviving witnesses.
Where were all you guys when this episode first aired? That night a forest of threads popped up and the majority of posters were bashing those who objected to the whole,"Hollywood Myth", presentation.
It's nice to see the majority in this thread have the sense and decency to identify this as NOT being a myth. I only can only hope the director, producer and discovery execs will take note of this response to the re-run of this controversial issue.
And they didn't listen to all of the fans who e-mailed the show to protest?
I guess it IS all about the money.
I didn't see it, as I don't watch the show anymore because of the airing of the original ep.[/quote]
hahaha!
[quote]I only can only hope the director, producer and discovery execs will take note of this response to the re-run of this controversial issue.[/quote]
No, they didn't. It's aired like 20 times already, no changes.
You see now-a-days, networks know that when a small minority of very very vocal viewers complain, it doesn't really represent the actual viewers.
Just like the janet jackson superbowl flash- everyone thought it was funny until a few moms got on the phone with the FCC and start yapping- pretty soon you get fines and a big "uproar" even though there never was any controversy.
The Discovery Channel made a wise decision to stand their ground.
i think that the myth was falsly tested because the person they used was made from balistics jell and has no bone to help deflect the fragments of the grenade
this is to jamie: a shotgun slug travels at about 1600 fps which is made by federal! not at "800 or 900 fps" the slowest load i could find in my dads hunting colection of loeads was some heavy turkey shot loads which are traneling at 1175 fps! so i just wanted to tell so you dont give false information!
The refrigerator was not tested as it was done in the Hollywood show. The show had a full refrigerator which could stop alot of shrapnel, and energy from the blast. The refrigerator on the Mythbusters episode was empty. It was not a very good comparison.
This is no myth. During a battle in the Viet Nam War, PFC Milton Olive III jumped onto a grenade to save members of his unit. For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. You may read about it at http://www.mishalov.com/Olive.html
I served in the Marines and had a Seargent Major who won a Medal Of Honor for jumping on a grenade. The amazing thing is that he survived! It was during the monsoon season. The grenade was thrown and the Marine threw his helmet and flack jacket on top of the grenade while jumping on it. The SgtMaj. lost a portion of his intestines, but lived. I believe the show proved this was possible when they set a grenade off in water. The ground was so muddy is helped contain the explosion.
What do Leroy Johnson, Billie G. Kanell, and Hector Santiago-Colon have in common. All three were awarded the US Medal of Honor after they threw themselves on grenades to save their comrades in battle. Johnson did it in Leyte, in 1944; Kanell near Pyong-yang, Korea, in 1951; Santiago-Colon in Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam in 1968. Incidentally, Johnson and Kanell both took hits from two grenades each. Nor are these the only men to make such a sacrifice. Of the 432 Medals of Honor awarded during World War II, 24 were to men who threw themselves on grenades (and in one case, on a mine) to save their comrades. Of the 127 Medals of Honor awarded in the Korean conflict, 21 went to men who threw themselves on grenades. There were 239 Medals of Honor awarded for the Vietnam confict; of those 57 were to men who threw themselves on grenades, 5 to men who shielded the blast of mines with their bodies, and 4 who put themselves between their comrades and other other types of explosive devices. That's far from half of the highest military awards in those years, as one participant claimed, but it's still an impressive number. Our intrepid Mythbusters cast could have confirmed that information simply by reading the "United States of America's Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and Their Official Citations" published by Holland House II, 1994.
here are a few that did throw themselves on grenades to save their comrades ANDERSON, RICHARD BEATTY 4th Marine Division during action against enemy Japanese forces on Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1 February 1944 BAUSELL, LEWIS KENNETH 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, 15 September 1944 BERRY, CHARLES JOSEPH 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945. BOYCE, GEORGE W. G., JR. 112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team Near Afua, New Guinea, 23 July 1944 BURR, ELMER J. Company 1, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Buna, New Guinea, 24 December 1942. BUSH, RICHARD EARL 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 6th Marine Division. Place and date: Mount Yaetake on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 16 April 1945 COOLEY, RAYMOND H. Company B, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lumboy, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 24 February 1945.
if you want to read all the stories of all CMH reciepiants here is the webpage www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm
My issue on this myth is with the fridge portion of the myth. The clip of Monk they showed had the fridge in a kitchen against a wall with cabinets on both sides. Monk was able to get to the next room and behind a wall before the explosion. I would think that this fridge placement would direct the force towards the door I would like to see this one revisited and maybe proping a kitchen chair against the fridge door would be an interesting "real life" option.
i think this one should definitly be revisted. the only thing they should of done though is also test the effects of using a HE (high explosive) grenade. it would be easy enough to test, just use some shockwatch stickers and test if the concussion blast from the grenade is enough to kill if someone is on it, and as far as the bucket of water it would prolby dampen the blow significatly.
As originally written, this message doesn't make since as I was referring to an earlier message that apparenly is not going to be posted. In that earlier message, I noted that according to a book listing Medal of Honor recipients and the official citations for their awards, published in 1994, of the 432 Medals of Honor awarded during World War II, 24 went to men who threw themselves on grenades (and in one case on a mine) to protect their comrades. The count should have been at least 25 such awards because I missed at least one while scanning the citations, which are not broken down according to the heroic acts performed. In Korea, 127 Medals of Honor were awarded, 21 to men who threw themselves on grenades; In Vietnam the percentage was much higher, 57 out of 239 awards, plus another 5 for mines and 4 for other explosive devices.
Anyway, the fellow I missed in my first scan is among the most interesting of the lot: Jack Lucas lied about his age to join the Marines at 16, was transferred to Hawaii after training, and was assigned at first to a non-combat group. However, he went AWOL and stowed away on one of the troopships carrying Marines to the invasion of Iwo Jima. He turned 17 at sea, and went in on the landings. Six days after his 17th birthday, Lucas jumped on 2 grenades to save his friends. Fortunately only 1 exploded; still he was left for dead. Later someone discovered he was still alive and he was transferred to a medical ship offshore and eventually back to the States. The kid underwent 22 operations and after the war was the only Medal of Honor recepient to enroll in high school.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: rufnek43,
It is the most recent occurrence I have heard of where a brave saved his buddies lives by jumping on a grenade. I to have found it offensive that this was called a "Hollywood Myth".
Yeah but how is "The Congressional Medal of Honor" any more reliable than "My sister's Friend's Cousin Sarah told me" or "I heard it through this email chain letter" or "Rumors on the internet suggest..."
If you don't have TANGIBLE EVIDENCE, they test it- because it's in movies.
