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Joe Mann was an American airborne private deployed in the area of Best. Already wounded, with both arms in slings, he was sheltering in a trench when a German hand grenade landed amongst him and his comrades. Unable to use his arms, Private Mann flung himself on the grenade, taking the full impact in his back. His last words were "My back's gone". His fellow soldiers received shrapnel wounds, but were otherwise unharmed. Private Mann died some moments later of his wounds. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour. There are many stories of men throwing themselves on grenades, and countless images of it in Hollywood films, but this is one of the few documented occurances of such an act of heroism.
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