Marine at Iwo Jima trips and falls while trying to be heroic.

>The platoon soon rejoined the company. Its wayward landing down the beach had touched off a comic moment before the carnage. Lieutenant Pennel had thought to reorient his men with a show of [John Wayne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/John_Wayne_-_still_portrait.jpg)-like gallantry. As the amtrac’s ramp went down he yelled, “Come on, men!” and then fell flat on his face into the water-saturated volcanic ash. “The guys ran up my back, laughing,” he remembered. ____________________ **Source:** Bradley, James, and Ron Powers. “D-Day.” *Flags of Our Fathers*. Bantam Dell, a Division of Random House, Inc., 2006. 157. Print. ____________________ **Further Reading:** [Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison) / John Wayne / “Duke”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne)