Les Diables Rouges de la Pointe du Hoc

At Pointe du Hoc, Rangers found the German coastal guns had been relocated to an orchard 1,300 yards away — but they didn't know this when climbing the cliffs under fire. A two-man patrol, Sgt. Leonard Lomell and Sgt. Jack Kuhn, stumbled upon the guns by accident, destroyed them with thermite grenades from the gun barrels' traversing mechanisms. When they returned, Lomell was chewed out by Lt. Col. James Rudder for leaving the cliff top without orders. Both men were later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The original mission would have failed completely had they not found the relocated guns.