While movies like American Sniper and Lone Survivor are drawing record crowds at the box office, we thought we’d focus our attention on several other modern-day U.S. soldiers who deserve biopics of their own. Three of these modern-day heroes are featured below, but let’s face it, there are countless others who deserve both recognition and our undying gratitude. Virtually everyone who puts on a uniform, and especially those who’ve served in combat, has a true story worth hearing. Let’s take the time to listen. Like and share this article to help make Hollywood aware of these other modern-day heroes.

1. Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore ‘Sal’ Giunta

Why He’s a Hero: In November 2010, Hiawatha, Iowa native Salvator ‘Sal’ Giunta became the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. On October 25, 2007, at the age of 22, Sal was ambushed along with his platoon in northeast Afghanistan’s deadly Korengal Valley. Muzzle flashes and tracer fire erupted around them and the two lead men in Sal’s platoon were hit and went down.

Read Sal Giunta’s memoir.

When a third soldier was struck in the helmet in front of Sal, he charged forward into a wall of bullets to pull his comrade to a safer spot. Sal was hit twice, one round pounding his body armor and the other shattering the weapon slung over his back.

His modern-day heroism didn’t end there. Sal and some of the other members of his platoon regrouped and counterattacked. They threw grenades for cover and shot at the muzzle flashes bursting from the trees as they surged forward toward the other two wounded U.S. soldiers. They reached one of the men, who had been shot twice in the leg but had kept on returning fire until his gun jammed. As another soldier addressed his leg wounds, Sal Giunta continued onward until he saw a haunting sight: two insurgents were carrying the other injured U.S. soldier away, who was one of Sal’s closest friends. Sal raced at the insurgents, opened fire, and never slowed down. He killed one of them and injured the other, who quickly fled. Sal dragged his badly wounded friend to safety and spent nearly half an hour trying to stop the bleeding and help his friend breathe.

Watch the video below and you’ll see that Sal Giunta is not only a modern-day hero, he’s also an extremely likable guy. When asked how he ended up joining the military, he said that he was working at Subway one night and heard an advertisement on the radio for a local recruiting center. The ad promised a free t-shirt. With a smile, Sal said that he likes free stuff, so he ended up stopping by.

Watch Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (Part 1 of the show does not include Sal)

Why He’s a Hero: A standout running-back in high school who hardly ever went down on the first hit, Kyle Carpenter joined the Marine Corps upon graduation. In July 2010, Kyle and his unit found themselves in Marja, a remote area in southern Afghanistan. Their mission was to root out Taliban insurgents, and nearly every patrol that went out got into a several-hour-long firefight. On the morning of November 21, 2010, Kyle and Lance Corporal Nick Eufrazio were standing guard on the rooftop of a building, as their platoon rested inside. Out of nowhere, grenades started to land and explode inside the courtyard of their compound. The final grenade exploded on the roof where Kyle and Nick were on watch.

According to military investigators, who studied both the damage to the rooftop and Kyle Carpenter’s injuries, it was concluded that Kyle threw himself on top of the grenade to shield his friend and fellow Marine from the blast. When Marines from the compound reached Kyle, he was covered in blood and missing most of his lower jaw. He was medevaced to the nearest base where he was declared PEA (Patient Expired on Arrival). Doctors revived him, but his heart stopped twice more during the week that it took to get him to Walter Reed Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. There, he was placed in a medically induced coma for five weeks.

Kyle had lost his right eye, most of his teeth had been blown out, and he had over thirty fractures in his right arm alone. He could barely sit up in bed, but he envisioned a goal, to one day run in a marathon. After nearly 40 surgeries, two-and-a-half years in the hospital, and endless rehabilitation, Kyle Carpenter went home. On June 19, 2014, Kyle Carpenter became the second living Marine since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor. And from initially not even being able to make it around the nurse’s station at Walter Reed, Kyle Carpenter’s determination and will to survive led him to complete the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon. Kyle Carpenter is a modern-day hero whose spirit could never be tackled.

Why He’s a Hero: The night Army Ranger Leroy Petry met his wife, he thought he had won the lottery, literally. He had purchased a bunch of scratch-off lottery tickets and one of the tickets seemed to indicate that he had won close to $1,000,000 (he was never sure of the amount, but knew it was a lot). He called his mom and told her she would never have to work again, and he told his family that he was retiring from the military. His brother’s then-girlfriend eventually looked at the ticket and informed them that the amount had to form a straight line. Deflated, Leroy was the blunt of more than a few jokes from his brothers and the fellow soldiers in his unit. Leroy didn’t win the lottery that day, but the fact that he did not meant that he would remain in the Army long enough to save the lives of two of his fellow Rangers.

On May 26, 2008, during his seventh deployment, Leroy Petry found himself in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan on a mission to capture a Taliban target. He was clearing the courtyard of a house that potentially contained high-value combatants. While crossing the courtyard, he and another Ranger, Private First Class Lucas Robinson, were engaged and wounded. An enemy round had gone through both of Petry’s legs and another had hit Robinson in the armor plate protecting his side. Petry led his wounded comrade behind a chicken coop for cover. There, they were joined by Sergeant Daniel Higgins, who began to assess their wounds.

A Taliban fighter threw a grenade at their location and the blast knocked them to the ground, injuring Higgins and further wounding Robinson. When a second grenade landed a few feet away between Petry and the other two Rangers, 28-year-old Leroy Petry lunged forward toward the grenade, picked it up, and tried to throw it around the side of the coop away from his fellow Rangers. Just as he opened his hand to release it, it exploded, amputating his right hand at the wrist and sending shrapnel into his body. Grievously wounded, this modern-day hero didn’t stop there. He then placed a tourniquet on his right wrist before radioing in support for himself and his fellow wounded Rangers. And that’s only part of his remarkable story.

Petry was evacuated to an American hospital in Germany. His wounds resulted in the loss of his right arm below the elbow. After returning home, he was eventually outfitted with an advanced prosthetic, à la the Terminator. Following his recovery, he did not seek medical discharge from the Army. Instead, he returned to Afghanistan for an eighth deployment. On July 12, 2011, Leroy Petry became the second living U.S. service member since Vietnam to be awarded the Medal of Honor, following Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta (above).

There are countless other modern-day soldiers whose stories need to be told. The true stories of Sal Giunta, Kyle Carpenter and Leroy Petry put into perspective things like the Super Bowl. The players will say they “battled hard to win” and “never gave up the fight.” In that sense, those words have become clichés used to describe what is the equivalent of a board game when compared to the battles our country’s real heroes endure. Thank you to all of you who have served.

The man who helped inspire Tusk, Chris Parkinson (left), poses with writer/director Kevin Smith (right) and a walrus (center).

Of all the 2014 movies one might guess are linked to true stories, Kevin Smith’s horror movie Tusk would probably not make the list. That is, unless your mind is as warped as some of the characters in the movie. Let’s pretend it’s not and that you’re surprised to learn that Tusk was loosely inspired by an ad posted on England’s free classified site Gumtree.  The ad, posted by Brighton, England poet-writer/prankster Chris Parkinson, stated that a retired man was looking for a tenant and was willing to offer free rent to a person who was willing to dress up in a walrus costume for roughly two hours a day. Fascinated with Chris Parkinson’s Walrus ad, director Kevin Smith discussed it with co-host Scott Mosier on Smith’s SModcast podcast. Listen to the original podcast below, “SModcast #259: The Walrus and the Carpenter”.

Despite the ad turning out to be a hoax, it became the seed for a movie idea.  “Something snapped in my brain, and it’s only happened one other time in my life,” Smith said. That other time was 20 years ago, when “I wondered why people didn’t make movies about me and my friends talking about movies and pussy and Star Wars. So I did, and it was Clerks.”

Smith took the idea of a retired man desiring a tenant who will dress up in a walrus costume and turned it into a twisted Frankenstein-like tale, adding plenty of fiction. “I began reconstructing the whole thing as an old British Hammer horror film,” Smith said in a Hollywood Reporter blog post, “in which a mad scientist intends to sew some hapless lodger into counterfeit blubber, creating a chimera in an effort to answer the ultimate riddle, ‘Is man, indeed, a walrus at heart?'”

Below is Chris Parkinson’s “Walrus” roommate ad that inspired the Tusk movie. Immediately following the image, the advert has been transcribed for easier reading.

Above is Chris Parkinson’s original 2013 ad that he posted to the British website Gumtree. The ad, which turned out to be a hoax, sparked Kevin Smith’s idea for Tusk.

Chris Parkinson’s Advertisement:

Hello, I am looking for a lodger in my house. I have had a long and interesting life and have now chosen Brighton as a location for my retirement. Among the many things I have done in my life is to spend three years alone on St. Lawrence Island. These were perhaps the most intense and fascinating years of my life, and I was kept in companionship with a walrus whom I named Gregory. Never have I had such a fulfilling friendship with anyone, human or otherwise, and upon leaving the island I was heartbroken for months. I now find myself in a large house over looking Queens Park and am keen to get a lodger. This is a position I am prepared to offer for free (eg: no rent payable) on the fulfillment of some conditions. I have, over the last few months, been constructing a realistic walrus costume, which should fit most people of average proportions, and allow for full and easy movement in character. To take on the position as my lodger you must be prepared to wear the walrus suit for approximately two hours each day (in practice, this is not two hours every day – I merely state it here so you are able to have a clear idea of the workload). Whilst in the walrus costume you must be a walrus – there must be no speaking in a human voice, and any communication must entail making utterances in the voice of a walrus – I believe there aer (SIC) recordings available on the web – to me, the voice is the most natural thing I have ever heard. Other duties will involve catching and eating the fish and crabs that I will occasionally throw to you whilst you are being the walrus. With the exception of this, you will be free to do whatever you choose, and will have a spacious double room, complete run of the house (with the exception of my bedroom and my workshop), and use of all facilities within. I am a considerate person to share a house with, and other than playing the accordion my tastes are easy to accomodate (SIC).

Due to the nature of this position I will need to audition all applicants before agreeing to take the chosen candidate on as a lodger. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Chris Parkinson was given an executive producer title for being part of the inspiration for the movie Tusk, written and directed by Kevin Smith.

Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) discovers the ad in the Tusk movie.

British actor Michael Parks portrays Howard Howe in the Kevin Smith movie Tusk.

Listen to UK prankster Chris Parkinson talk to Kevin Smith on the SModcast podcast.

And if you’re wondering if real people have modified their bodies to look like animals, let’s not forget Cat Man (aka Stalking Cat), Dennis Avner. Albeit, his was voluntary.

No. Unfortunately, should a virus threaten to wipe out the world’s population, we’ll have to count on a different ship than the fictional USS Nathan James to save us. The USS Nathan James (DDG-151), the U.S. Navy Arleigh-Burke class destroyer seen on TNT’s post-apocalyptic action-drama The Last Ship, is not based on a real ship. No ship in the United States Navy has ever borne the name USS Nathan James.

The book finds the crew escaping nuclear fallout, not a pandemic.

Where does the fictional ship name come from?

The ship name, USS Nathan James, comes from William Brinkley’s 1988 novel The Last Ship on which the TV show is based. In the novel, the ship is named after a U.S. Navy ensign who was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II.

It should be noted that the Last Ship’s hull code in the book is DDG-80, while on the TV show it is DDG-151. The change was made due to the fact that the USS Roosevelt, launched in 1999, was assigned the hull code DDG-80. The number at the end of the code stands for the ship’s position in the series, while the letters ‘DD’ stand for Destroyer and the ‘G’ for Guided Missile. So, the USS Nathan James is a destroyer that shoots guided missiles, and it is the 151st in its class.

The Last Ship was filmed at various locations in California, including Naval Base San Diego (NBSD). The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG-97) stands in for the TV show’s fictional USS Nathan James (DDG-151).

Various promos for the TV show incorrectly feature the hull number as 97 (visible on the right), which is the hull number of the USS Nathan James‘s real life stand in, the USS Halsey (DDG-97)

The USS Halsey standing in as the fictional USS Nathan James (DDG-151) on The Last Ship TV show (top), and the USS Halsey (DDG-97) in real life (bottom). The similarities between each ship’s coat of arms (inset) is evidence that the TV show’s creators were clearly inspired by the USS Halsey.

Notice the similarities between the coat of arms in each photo above (inset, left corner). As for their mottoes, the fictional USS Nathan James dubs itself “The Spear of the Navy” while its real-life stand-in, the USS Halsey, sails with the motto, “Hit Hard Hit Fast Hit Often”.

You can even buy clothing for the fictional Navy ship. Click t-shirt to purchase.

Is the TV show different than the book?

Yes. While the book is set in the latter part of the 20th century, The Last Ship TV show is set in the first half of the 21st century. In the book, the crew struggles to avoid the radioactive fallout from nuclear warfare, while the TV show finds the crew attempting to escape a global pandemic. In this sense, the book is more similar to On the Beach, the 1959 film starring Gregory Peck, which is based on the On the Beach novel by Nevil Shute.

Yes. On The Last Ship TV show, crew members of the USS Nathan James fire three parachutes into the air, which deploy and begin to pull the ship. The concept is based on a real technology that debuted in 2008 as a way for modern steel ships to harness wind power and in turn cut down on fuel consumption. The episode simplifies the launching process of the kite sails (they’re not fired into the air out of handheld guns) and exaggerates the number of sails (normally just one). The sky sail is also controlled and monitored by a complicated computer system and is designed to assist a working engine, rather than make up for a non-functioning one.

The Last Ship‘s use of parachute sails to pull the ship (top) is not as far-fetched as it might seem. SkySails is one such company that develops parachute style kite sails for cargo ships (bottom).

In October of 2008, the U.S. Navy chartered one such kite-assisted cargo ship, the MV Beluga, to deliver Air Force and Army cargo from Europe to the U.S. The Beluga was equipped with a kite developed by the German company SkySails. The video below showcases the SkySails kite system.

Yes. Lt. JG Robyn Gerstenslager of the Navy Office of Information West said that the Navy considers its cooperation with the production a success. “This is good for Naval Base San Diego and the Navy as a whole because we have a unique opportunity to give the public a glimpse into the inner workings of the Navy that they wouldn’t get otherwise. The sailors on board USS Halsey and Naval Base San Diego have been amazing. We could not have done this without their help, and feel extremely fortunate to work with this ship and base.” Watch the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at the TV show’s collaboration with the U.S. Navy.

Yes. “The majority, if not all of the extras for the show are real U.S. Navy sailors,” says Lt. JG Robyn Gerstenslager.

In new book, author claims the Zodiac killer has been found and it was his father, Earl Van Best, Jr. (left).

A Louisiana man, Gary L. Stewart, who co-authored a new book on the Zodiac killer, claims that his own father was the infamous murderer. A San Francisco mugshot of the man’s dad from the 1960s is displayed above next to a police sketch of the killer. You be the judge. Stewart’s book recounts his decade-long search for his biological father, which culminated with him concluding that he had found the Zodiac killer, and it was his father. Check out the History vs. Hollywood research into the ‘Zodiac’ movie.

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