Lieutenant John R. Fox served in the 92nd Infantry Division as a forward observer for the artillery. Rather than escape when he had the chance, he remained in his position and continued to call for fire. When the enemy was finally too close for him to escape; he called for fire on his own position. His actions delayed the enemy attack long enough for a counter attack to be organized.
I'll finish with Dorie Miller. Serving as a steward on board the battleship West Virginia, he manned a machine gun during the Pearl Harbor attack. He was officially credited with downing two enemy aircraft, though he had never fired a machine gun before. Many witnesses insisted he had shot down more than two. Dorie Miller was killed in action two years later when the carrier Liscombe Bay was torpedoed.
This article is already significantly longer than most that I write; and I've barely scratched the surface. Take a look at the following links. Heroes are out there, go find them.
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/aa_mh.htm
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/ww1.htm
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/people.htm
http://www.abest.com/~cklose/aawar.htm#C...
http://www.webhosters.com/34thtxcav/inde...