Private John M. K. Steele was one of the most famous paratroopers from D-Day — he famously got caught on the spire of the church in Sainte-Mère-Église, hanging limp and playing dead for hours while the town burned below. What is less known: Steele had actually been wounded in the foot by friendly fire before he ever jumped. He was supposed to be left behind, but his replacement had taken his place and jumped anyway. Steele descended with his weapon and equipment, caught on the church, and watched the entire town's liberation from the spire. After being cut down and treated, he returned to his unit and fought through the rest of the Normandy campaign. He later worked as a postman in Wisconsin. His actual foot wound was never properly documented — historians discovered it only in 2019 when a military nurse's unpublished diary surfaced at an estate sale in Connecticut.