History's Ultimate Badasses

[Goodspeed]

So, what makes a badass? Someone who is unsuspecting, tough as nails, and totally batshit insane? In a word: yes.

The purpose of this thread is to share history's ultimate (and real) badasses. Nothing serves as good of a pick-me-up as hearing a badass story about a badass person doing something utterly badass.

So, look upon the pages of history, and share with us the one single person you've determined is the ultimate badass of the ages. Tell us their story, teach us the ways of their badassness, and maybe...just maybe, we'll all be contented because of it. I'm sure you'll be compelled to share with us your badass, probably because their soul is threatening you to from beyond the grave.

And then we'll inevitably devolve into the discussion of which is the most badass and who would win which fight.

My Badass:

Simo Hayha. Simo, a Finnish man of a slight 5 foot 3, was a farmer and hunter who completed his one year mandatory military service in 1925. After completing his one year ending as a corporal in a goddamn bicycle unit, he maintained his reserve soldier status until the 1939-1940 Winter War broke out between the USSR and Finland, and Simo found himself an active soldier.

When the Soviet Red Army invaded his native Finland, Simo was promptly all like "F that", so he took to the forest with his rifle and began sniping Soviet troops.

He sniped a lot of Soviet troops.

In the dead of winter, in the woods, in temptures up to -40 degrees F wearing all-white camouflage.

Simo had a confirmed 505 kills, using an unscoped Mosin Nagant M/28 rifle, which he chose after turning down the use of a scoped Mauser. He preferred to use the standard rifle sights of the M/28, allowing him to keep his head down, to ensure lens glare wouldn't reveal his position, and to avoid a scope lens from fogging up. He also froze the snow in front of his barrel to avoid dispersing the snow, which would reveal his position upon firing.

This soon garnered him the name of the "White Death". Not only that, but he had a possible 542 kills including those unconfirmed, and he had an extra confirmed 200 kills with a submachine gun. This brings the total deaths accredited to Simo to at least 705. And he did them all in under 100 days.

Finally, the Soviets got pretty upset with everyone dying and all, so they sent counter-snipers out after him. When they all turned up with a bad case of the deads, they began bombing the forests, but alas, Simo survived.

Until afterwards, when he was shot in the face by a Red Army soldier. Oh wait, he didn't die. He composed himself (again, after being shot in the face), and killed his attacker. When fellow soldiers found him, he had "half of his head missing". The bullet removed much of his left jaw and cheek, and he soon fell into a coma, waking nine days later on the same day the conflict ended (with Finland losing, probably because Simo wasn't around).

When asked decades later if he felt any remorse for the sheer number of enemy soldiers he killed, he said "I did what I was told to as well as I could". And how did he become so good? "Practice".

And then he lived until 2002.

Badass.

[Ken]

That's "G"

[flintster55]

Not bad Goodspeed. He sounds like a BAMF to me.


My pick



Andrew Jackson :lol:

Quoted from an article because i'm lazy:

When the 1828 election rolled around, a lot of people were terrified when they heard Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson was running. If you're wondering how a guy we're calling a bad ass got such a lame nickname, it's because he used to carry a hickory cane around and beat people senseless with it, and if you're wondering why he did that, it's because he was a fucking lunatic.

Former Democratic Senator and Secretary of the Treasurey Albert Gallatin feared a Jackson presidency because of his "habitual disregard of laws and constitutional provisions." Or in other words, the man was a loose canon--17th Century Washigton's answer to Martin Riggs. Sure, he probably didn't have an irate black lieutenant to answer to, or a weary partner who was too old for this shit, but he most certainly had a death wish.

How do we know? Well, despite everyone's best efforts, Jackson was elected to the top office, and when he wasn't busy shaping the Presidency as we know it today, you could find him out back dueling. In case you haven't been to the 18th century lately, this unmanly sounding activity actually involves standing across from an armed man and shooting at him while he in turn shoots at you. The number of duels that Jackson took part in varies depending on what source you consult; some say 13, while others rank the number somewhere in the 100's, both of which are entirely too many times for a reasonable human being to stand in front of someone who is strying to kill them with a loaded gun.

On one occasion, he challenged a man named Charles Dickinson to a duel, (the reason behind it wasn't important, not to us and certainly not to Jackson), and Jackson was even kind enough to give Dickinson the first shot. We're gonna go ahead and repeat that: In a duel with pistols, Jackson politely volunteers to be shot at first. Dickinson happily obliged and shot Jackson, who proceeded to shake it off like it was a bee sting. When Jackson returned the favor, Dickinson was not so lucky, and that's why his face isn't on the twenty. The bullet, by the by, remained in Jackson's body for 19 years because, we assume, Jackson knew that time spent removing the bullets would just fall under the general category of "time not dueling," Jackson's least favorite category.

Greatest Display of Badassedry:
Andrew Jackson was the first president on whom an assassination attempt was made. A man named Richard Lawrence approached Jackson with two pistols both of which, for some reason, misfired. With the possibility of an assassination taken off the table, Jackson proceeded to beat Lawrence near death with his cane until Jackson's aides pulled him off the assassin.

The guns were inspected afterwards and it was discovered that they were in perfect working order, leading some historians to believe that it was an odds-defying "miracle" that Jackson survived, while we're pretty sure that the bullets, like everyone else, were simply scared of Jackson.

Most Badass Quote:
"I have only two regrets: I didn't shoot Henry Clay and I didn't hang John C. Calhoun."

That's right. In a life rich with murdering people for little-to-no reason, Jackson's only regret was that he didn't kill quite enough people. People like Calhoun who, it should be noted, was Jackson's vice president.

[CaptainHenreh]

I'm gonna go with:


Teddy Roosevelt

I'll quote from the Cracked article because I'm too lazy:

Checking Teddy Roosevelt's resume is like reading a How-To guide on ass-kicking manliness. He was a cattle rancher, a deputy sheriff, an explorer, a police commissioner, the assistant Secretary of the Navy, the governor of New York, and a war hero. Out of all of his jobs, hobbies and passions, Roosevelt always had a special spot in his heart for unadulterated violence. In 1898, Roosevelt formed the first U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, known as the Rough Riders. Most people already know of the Rough Riders and their historic charge up San Juan Hill, but few know that, since their horses had to be left behind, the Riders made this charge entirely on foot. You just could not stop this man from violencing the hell out of a San Juan Hill.

And don't think that Roosevelt lost his obsession with violence when he became president, or he might just come back from the dead and murder you, (and how do you kill a Teddy Roosevelt that's already dead!?!). He strolled through the White House with a pistol on his person at all times, though, with his black belt in jujitsu and his history as a champion boxer, it wasn't like he really needed it.

It wasn't just his war record or the fact that he knew several different ways to kill you that made Roosevelt such a badass. It wasn't even the fact that he kept a bear and a lion at the White House as pets, (though that certainly helps). Teddy Roosevelt was a badass of the people. Roosevelt received letters from army cavalrymen complaining about having to ride 25 miles a day for training and, in response, Teddy rode horseback for 100 miles, from sunrise to sunset, at 51 years old, effectively rescinding anyone's right to complain about anything, ever again.

Did we mention he had asthma growing up? He did, and after he beat asthma to death, he ate asthma's raw flesh and ran 100 straight miles off the energy it gave him.

Greatest Display of Badassedry:
While campaigning for a third term, Roosevelt was shot by a madman and, instead of treating the wound, delivered his campaign speech with the bleeding, undressed bullet hole in his chest. On the other end of the spectrum, reasons why certain members of the Cracked Editorial Staff have called out of work over the last year include:

"A cold."
"A stubbed toe."
"It's raining."
"There's a spider near the door."

Most Badass Quote:
This quote actually comes from a fellow politician at the time of Roosevelt's death: "Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight." We have no witty commentary for that. That is just straight up badass.

[ScottyB]

i think Audie Murphy should be mentioned, the most decorated US WWII soldier.



"After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Murphy (then just 15 years old) tried to enlist in the military, but the services rejected him for being underage. In June 1942, shortly after his 16th birthday (sister Corrine adjusted his birth date so he appeared to be 18 and legally allowed to enlist, and his war memoirs, To Hell and Back, maintained this misinformation, leading to later confusion and contradictory statements as to his year of birth), Murphy was accepted into the United States Army"

when he wasn't fending off malaria or destorying German machine gun nests singlhandedly, he was doing things like this:

"Citation 2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50"

"Though he was only 21 years old at the end of the war, he had killed 240 German soldiers, been wounded three times, and had earned an amazing 33 awards and medals, including the Medal of Honor. "

[CaptainHenreh]

I am going to add another one:

Owen J. Baggett: (No Picture)


The Tenth Air Force in India was, 5 throughout most of its life, the smallest of the AAFÔÇÖs combat air forces but with a large geographical area of responsibility and an important mission. It was responsible for helping to defend the supply line from India to China and for interdicting the Japanese supply net running from Rangoon, Burma, to the north of that country. Its heavy bomber force ÔÇô consisting of a few B-24s ÔÇô was the 7th Bomb Group, based at Pandaveswar, northwest of Calcutta, whence it flew very long missions to targets mostly in Burma. On March 31, 1943, the 7th BGÔÇÖs 9th Bomb Squadron was dispatched to destroy a railroad bridge at Pyinmana, about halfway between Rangoon and Mandalay and near two active enemy fighter bases. The formation was led by Col. Conrad F. Necrason, 7th BG commander, The B-24 on his right wing was piloted by 1st Lt. Lloyd Jensen whose copilot was 2d Lt. Owen J. Baggett. On that mission, Baggett was to earn a distinction believed to be unique in Air Force history. Before reaching the target, the B- 24s were attacked by fighters. Colonel Necrason was severely wounded, and JensenÔÇÖs aircraft was fatally damaged. Oxygen bottles were shattered, intensifying a fire in the rear of JensenÔÇÖs bomber. Nineteen-year-old Sgt. Samuel Crostic slid out of his top turret, grabbed two fire extinguishers, and fought the fire in the rear of the aircraft while standing on a catwalk over the open bomb bay. The plane still was under attack by enemy fighters, taking many hits along its fuselage. To help defend the aircraft, copilot Baggett took over the top turret until Sergeant Crostic had emptied his fire extinguishers, giving the crew time to prepare for bailout. Smoke and fumes filled the 8-24. Jensen ordered the crew to bail out.

With the intercom inoperative, Baggett hand-signaled the gunners to hit the silk and, nearly overcome by fumes, put on his own chute. He next remembers floating down with a good chute. He saw four more open canopies before the bomber exploded. The Japanese pilots immediately began strafing the surviving crewmen, apparently killing some of them and grazing Lieutenant BaggettÔÇÖs arm. The pilot who had hit Baggett circled to finish him off or perhaps only to get a better look at his victim. Baggett pretended to be dead, hoping the Zero pilot would not fire again. In any event, the pilot opened his canopy and approached within feet of BaggettÔÇÖs chute, nose up and on the verge of a stall. Baggett, enraged by the strafing of his helpless crew mates, raised the .45 automatic concealed against his leg and fired four shots at the open cockpit. The Zero stalled and spun in.

After Baggett hit the ground, enemy pilots continued to strafe him, but he escaped by hiding behind a tree. Lieutenant Jensen and one of the gunners landed near him. All three were captured by the Burmese and turned over to the Japanese. Sergeant Crostic also survived the bail-out. Baggett and Jensen were flown out of Burma in an enemy bomber and imprisoned near Singapore. In the more than two years he was held prisoner, Owen BaggettÔÇÖs weight dropped from 180 pounds to ninety. He had ample time to think about his midair dual. He did not at first believe it possible that he could have shot down the enemy while swinging in his chute, but gradually pieces of the puzzle came together. Shortly after he was imprisoned, Baggett, Jensen, and another officer were taken before a Japanese major general who was in charge of all POWs in the area and who subsequently was executed as a war criminal. Baggett appeared to be treated like a celebrity. He was offered the opportunity of and given instructions on how to do the "honorable thing" ÔÇô commit hara-kiri, a proposal he declined.

A few months later, Col. Harry Melton, commander of the 311th Fighter Group who had been shot down, passed through the POW camp and told Baggett that a Japanese colonel said the pilot Owen Baggett had fired at had been thrown clear of his plane when it crashed and burned. He was found dead of a single bullet in his head.

[Mike]

Saw this guy mentioned on TV the other day... struck me as a badass:

Russell Dunham

Russell Dunham (February 23, 1920 - April 6, 2009) was an American World War II veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor. On January 8, 1945, as a member of Company I, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, Dunham eliminated three German machine gun nests despite being injured himself.

Early life

Dunham and his brother Ralph, who also joined the United States Army, grew up on a farm in Fosterburg, Illinois.

Combat action on January 8, 1945

Dunham was a platoon leader in his unit. Dunham's unit became pinned down at the base of snow-covered Hill 616, a steep hill in Alsace-Lorraine near Kaysersberg, France on January 8, 1945. With machine gun fire coming down the hill in front of their unit, and a heavy artillery barrage landing behind them, Dunham decided "the only way to go was up". Using a white mattress cover as a camouflage aid against the backdrop of the snow, Dunham began moving up the hill. He carried with him a dozen hand grenades and a dozen magazines for his M1 Carbine.

Dunham began crawling more than 100 yards (91 m) to the first machine gun nest under fire from two machine guns and supporting riflemen. When 10 yards (9 m) from the nest, he jumped up to assault the nest and was hit by a bullet which caused him to tumble 15 yards (14 m) downhill. He got back up and charged the nest firing his carbine as he went, and kicked aside an egg grenade that had landed at his feet. Prior to reaching the nest, he tossed a hand grenade into the nest. When he got to the nest, he killed the machine gunner and his assistant. His carbine then jammed, and he jumped into the machine gun emplacement. He threw a third German in the nest down the hill who was later captured by his unit.

With his carbine jammed, he picked up another carbine from a wounded soldier and advanced on the second nest, 50 yards (46 m) away. As he came within 25 yards (23 m) of the nest, he lobbed two hand grenades into the nest, wiping it out. He followed this up by firing down fox holes used in support of the nest. He then began his slow advance on the third nest, 65 yards (59 m) up the hill. He made his advance on the third nest under heavy automatic fire and grenades. As he came within 15 yards (14 m) of the nest, he tossed more grenades and wiped out the last nest, barely being missed at point blank range by a German rifleman.

During the action, Dunham killed nine Germans, wounded seven and captured two on his own. Nearly 30 other Germans were captured as a result of his actions.

When Dunham was presented with the Medal of Honor, General Alexander Patch said as he placed the award around Dunham's neck that his actions in single-handedly destroying the machine gun nests saved the lives of 120 U.S. soldiers who had been pinned down.

For his injuries on that day, Dunham also received the Purple Heart. Shrapnel from his injuries remained in his body for the rest of his life, and Dunham was quoted as saying "The shrapnel in my leg is a reminder of the war we fought."

Return to the front

Dunham returned to the front before his wounds healed. On January 22 his battalion was surrounded by tanks, forcing most of the men to surrender. The following morning, two German soldiers discovered Dunham hiding in a sauerkraut barrel outside a barn. When their search of his pockets turned up a pack of cigarettes, they fought over it, overlooking his pistol in a shoulder holster. Later that day as he was being transported toward German lines, the driver stopped in a bar, giving Dunham the opportunity to shoot his other captor in the head and set off toward the American lines. Dunham suffered severe frostbite while completing his escape.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army Organization: Company I, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place: Near Kaysersberg, France, Date: 8 January 1945. Entered service at: Brighton, Illinois Order: G.O. No.: 37, 11 May 1945.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. At about 1430 hours on 8 January 1945, during an attack on Hill 616, near Kayserberg, France, T/Sgt. Dunham single-handedly assaulted 3 enemy machine guns. Wearing a white robe made of a mattress cover, carrying 12 carbine magazines and with a dozen hand grenades snagged in his belt, suspenders, and buttonholes, T/Sgt. Dunham advanced in the attack up a snow-covered hill under fire from 2 machine guns and supporting riflemen. His platoon 35 yards behind him, T/Sgt. Dunham crawled 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward the timbered emplacement shielding the left machine gun. As he jumped to his feet 10 yards from the gun and charged forward, machine gun fire tore through his camouflage robe and a rifle bullet seared a 10-inch gash across his back sending him spinning 15 yards down hill into the snow. When the indomitable sergeant sprang to his feet to renew his 1-man assault, a German egg grenade landed beside him. He kicked it aside, and as it exploded 5 yards away, shot and killed the German machine gunner and assistant gunner. His carbine empty, he jumped into the emplacement and hauled out the third member of the gun crew by the collar. Although his back wound was causing him excruciating pain and blood was seeping through his white coat, T/Sgt. Dunham proceeded 50 yards through a storm of automatic and rifle fire to attack the second machine gun. Twenty-five yards from the emplacement he hurled 2 grenades, destroying the gun and its crew; then fired down into the supporting foxholes with his carbine dispatching and dispersing the enemy riflemen. Although his coat was so thoroughly blood-soaked that he was a conspicuous target against the white landscape, T/Sgt. Dunham again advanced ahead of his platoon in an assault on enemy positions farther up the hill. Coming under machinegun fire from 65 yards to his front, while rifle grenades exploded 10 yards from his position, he hit the ground and crawled forward. At 15 yards range, he jumped to his feet, staggered a few paces toward the timbered machinegun emplacement and killed the crew with hand grenades. An enemy rifleman fired at pointblank range, but missed him. After killing the rifleman, T/Sgt. Dunham drove others from their foxholes with grenades and carbine fire. Killing 9 Germans--wounding 7 and capturing 2--firing about 175 rounds of carbine ammunition, and expending 11 grenades, T/Sgt. Dunham, despite a painful wound, spearheaded a spectacular and successful diversionary attack.

Military awards

* Medal of Honor
* Silver Star
* Bronze Star
* Croix de Guerre for heroism from the president of France.
* Purple Heart

Later life

Dunham and his wife Wilda lived on a small farm near Jerseyville, Illinois for over 30 years. He regularly attended a variety of functions related to honoring Medal of Honor recipients. Dunham erected a monument at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in honor of those who served with the 3rd Infantry Division. The monument was dedicated on May 20, 2000, and stands near Flagstaff and Rostrum Drive on the cemetery grounds. In his later years he still enjoyed coon hunting.

Death

Dunham died in his sleep on the morning of April 6, 2009 in Godfrey, Illinois at the age of 89. He is interred at Godfrey's Valhalla Memorial Park.

Maybe not the ultimate badass, but a serious badass nonetheless.

[Mike]

Red Baron anyone? In a time when other nation's top pilots had like 20 kills, this mf'r had 100. Beyond "in a league of his own."

Manfred von Richthofen

you know what? just read it: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen</a><!-- m -->

[WRXtranceformed]

I've gotta throw Admiral Raphael Semmes in, not only because he was a relative but also because he was truly a badass. He did what would amount to today billions in damage to Union Navy vessels and merchant marines when they were blockading the Southern ports. He still to this day has the record for the most ships captured and/or sunk by a Navy admiral. He was essentially an enlisted pirate.

Admiral Raphael Semmes was born on September 27, 1809 in Charles County, Maryland. He was orphaned at the age of ten. He began training as a U.S. Navy Midshipman at the age of 15. He moved to Mobile, Alabama in 1849 so he could be close to the naval base in Pensacola, Florida and to practice law. Semmes resigned from the United States Navy in 1861 and became a Commander in the Confederate States Navy. Semmes then brought a steamer over from New Orleans and converted it into the cruiser, The Sumter. It was the Confederacy's first commerce destroyer. After the decommission of the Sumter, Semmes was assigned to the CSS Alabama. Captain Semmes and the Alabama would spend the next 22 months at sea capturing or sinking 69 ships valued at 6 million dollars. Adding this to his record aboard the Sumter it added up 87 ships sunk or captured, his record still stands today.

The Alabama went to port in Cherbourg, France on June 11, 1864. It was spotted within a few days by the USS Kearsearge. On June 19, 1864 the Alabama met the Kearsearge in battle and was sunk within an hour. Nineteen crewmen were lost, and the USS Kearsearge picked up the rest. Captain Semmes and 41 other crewmen were picked up by the Deerhound and escaped to England. In June 1865 Raphael Semmes was promoted to Admiral and was put in command of the James River Squadron that was protecting Richmond. He was forced to burn his ships upon the Union advance towards Richmond. President Jefferson Davis appointed Admiral Semmes a Brigadier General. Admiral/Brigadier General Semmes surrendered with Joseph E. Johnston at Durham, North Carolina. Semmes died on August 30, 1877 after eating spoiled shrimp at his daughter's home in Point Clear, Alabama. He is buried with his wife Ann in Mobile Catholic Cemetery, a statue of Admiral Semmes stands over Government Street in Downtown Mobile.

Interestingly, the only reason he was sunk by the Kearsage was because he and his crew had been out to sea for I believe over 9 months fighting and had to come in to France for repairs. The Kearsage followed him there and challenged him, and Semmes being a Southern gentleman couldn't turn it down. Despite the fact that the Kearsage draped iron chains over its hull, the Alabama lodged a shell right in the powder room of the ship but it didn't blow up because the Alabama's gunpowder was too wet from months of sea and battle.

There is a street at LSU named after him and there is actually a Semmes, Alabama. I feel like I need to go visit just because :lol:

[ScottyB]

thats pretty damn cool, and yeah you need to visit just because!

[flintster55]

Semmes died on August 30, 1877 after eating spoiled shrimp at his daughter's home in Point Clear, Alabama.

Not gonna lie, that's a pretty disappointing ending to a baddass life :lol:

[rezarxt]

Audie Murphy takes the cake IMO.

[Levey]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill</a><!-- m -->

This guy fought in WWII armed with a bow and arrow and a muhfucking sword. Yea, sword.

[Mike]

Vlad Tepes (The Impaler)
Leonidas
Phidippides
Th├¡ch Quảng Đức
Kimbo Slice
Alvin York

[CaptainHenreh]

Mikey, this thread has a well established post structure, and you're violating it.

Also, Vlad Tepes wasn't a bad ass, just a colossal asshole.

[WRXtranceformed]

Achilles > all

and Kimbo Slice is pretty much widely known as a pussy in real MMA. Just saying!

[mrbaggio]

and Kimbo Slice is pretty much widely known as a pussy in real MMA. Just saying!

True. He is shit

[ScottyB]

Sigurdur Petursson, batshit crazy arctic fisherman:



An Icelandic fishing captain, known as "the Iceman" for his tough character, grabbed a 300 kg shark with his bare hands as it swam in shallow water towards his crew, a witness said today.

The skipper of the trawler "Erik the Red" was on a beach in Kuummiit, east Greenland, watching his crew processing a catch when he saw the shark swimming towards the fish blood and guts - and his men.

Captain Sigurdur Petursson, known to locals as "the Iceman", ran into the shallow water and grabbed the shark by its tail. He dragged it off to dry land and killed it with his knife.

"He caught it just with his hands. There was a lot of blood in the sea and the shark came in and he thought it was dangerous," Frede Kilime, a hunter and fisherman who watched from the beach, told Reuters by phone from Greenland.

Icelandic author and journalist Reynir Traustason, who knows the trawler captain, said the act was typical of the man.

"He's called 'the Iceman' because he isn't scared of anything," he said. "I know the people in that part of the world. They are really tough."


"Peturrson, 55 and a muscle-packed 12st, grabbed the 14ft sharkÔÇÖs tail, pulled it to shore and killed it with a knife.

It was not a matter of strength, it was a matter of courage. My next challenge is to kill a polar bear!ÔÇØ

[Ken]

Asshole, but still a badass
Richard Kuklinski

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kuklinski">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kuklinski</a><!-- m -->

[KPWSerpiente]

Sorry for bitch slapping you silly so late Mike...I was traveling out to the desert.

Red Baron anyone? In a time when other nation's top pilots had like 20 kills, this mf'r had 100. Beyond "in a league of his own."

Manfred von Richthofen was credited with 80 kills, not 100.

What nations top pilots are you talking about? The USA's Eddie Rickenbacker (26)?

What about France's Rene Fonck who was officially credited with 75 victories although he claimed well over 100. Georges Guynemer (53)?

Or the Canadians Billy Bishop (72) and Raymond Collishaw (60)?

Any love for Britain's James McCudden (57)? Edward Mannock? Several sources including fellow pilot Ira Jones credit him with as many as 73 kills.

I just can't believe you'd put the Red Baron on such a pedestal. Half of his kills were againt non-fighters. He famously took every kill for himself, never allowing a wingman or the new guy a chance.
He wasn't an innovator like Boelcke or Mannock; both wrote down a set of rules for air combat which were instrumental in the success of other pilots.

All the guys listed above were off the top of my head...while ensuring I had thier scores right I ran into this South African, Andrew (Anthony) Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, who I never heard of. Apparently he has 54 confirmed victories.

You want a bad ass pilot from WW1? Read about Werner Voss or Ernst Udet.

As a teaser about Udet from wikipedia: On the tail of his Fokker D VII was the message "Du doch nicht" - "Definitely not you.

-T