When Japanese Cut Off This American's Ear — He Killed All 41 of Them in 36 Minutes
WW2 Records
1,054,347 views
Why Private John McKinney fought 100 Japanese soldiers alone during WW2 — and killed 41 of them in just 36 minutes. This World War 2 story reveals how one Georgia farm boy's hunting skills turned him into the Pacific's deadliest one-man army.
May 11, 1945. Private John McKinney, Company A, 123rd Infantry Regiment, was resting in his tent near Dingalan Bay, Luzon. A Japanese sergeant slashed open the tent flap and cut off part of McKinney's ear with a sword. McKinney grabbed his M1 rifle and killed the attacker with the rifle butt. Then he saw them — approximately 100 Japanese soldiers pouring through the perimeter. Every instinct said run. Every rule said wait for backup.
McKinney did neither.
What this sharecropper's son from Georgia discovered that morning wasn't about military training. It was about survival instincts honed from a lifetime of hunting in ways that contradicted everything the Army taught. Armed with only his M1 rifle, McKinney fought wave after wave of enemy soldiers. Some he shot at point-blank range. Others he killed with his rifle butt in hand-to-hand combat.
When reinforcements finally arrived, they couldn't believe what they found. The body count around McKinney's position would make him a legend — and change his life forever.
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20 Comments
I had 4 uncles in WW2, officers and tank crews both. 3 out of 4 came home. I am 68 and did my time as medic. Proud of all my kin.
3 times on these drives, he started to talk about what had happened during the war.
I would ask, "DAD, how did that make you feel?"
and other open-ended questions, to help him unfold the narrative, and let HIM KNOW I heard him.
I asked my wife and brother-in-law,
"Has he EVER TALKED WITH YOU about it?"
He had NEVER TALKED TO ANYONE ABOUT IT, I was SO HONORED he trusted me.
My Inlaws lived with us over 20 years, we cared for them until they passed away. I loved them both.
When Japanese Cut Off This American's Ear — He Killed All 41 of Them in 36 Minutes
WW2 Records
1,054,347 views
Why Private John McKinney fought 100 Japanese soldiers alone during WW2 — and killed 41 of them in just 36 minutes. This World War 2 story reveals how one Georgia farm boy's hunting skills turned him into the Pacific's deadliest one-man army.
May 11, 1945. Private John McKinney, Company A, 123rd Infantry Regiment, was resting in his tent near Dingalan Bay, Luzon. A Japanese sergeant slashed open the tent flap and cut off part of McKinney's ear with a sword. McKinney grabbed his M1 rifle and killed the attacker with the rifle butt. Then he saw them — approximately 100 Japanese soldiers pouring through the perimeter. Every instinct said run. Every rule said wait for backup.
McKinney did neither.
What this sharecropper's son from Georgia discovered that morning wasn't about military training. It was about survival instincts honed from a lifetime of hunting in ways that contradicted everything the Army taught. Armed with only his M1 rifle, McKinney fought wave after wave of enemy soldiers. Some he shot at point-blank range. Others he killed with his rifle butt in hand-to-hand combat.
When reinforcements finally arrived, they couldn't believe what they found. The body count around McKinney's position would make him a legend — and change his life forever.
🔔 Subscribe for more untold WW2 stories: @wwii-records
👍 Like this video if you learned something new
💬 Comment below: What other WW2 tactics should we cover?
#worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records
My father was also a sharecropper when he enlisted into World War II. He was Sergeant George Emory Wiley Sr. 335 medical detachment 84th infantry division.He served as a frontline medic.
in France and Germany for 3 years, wounded twice with two purple hearts and bronze Star. Fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
I enjoyed your documentary very much, Great job and THANKS.
George Wiley Jr.