The Most Badass Man in History — Lt. General Adrian Carton de WiartBorn/Died: May 5th, 1880 -

The Most Badass Man in History — Lt. General Adrian Carton de WiartBorn/Died: May 5th, 1880 - June 5th 1963Military Service: British Army, 1899–1923, 1939–1947Awards: Victoria Cross, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Order of Bath, Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, Distinguished Service Order, Legion of Honour (France), Vituti Militari (Poland), Cross of Valor (Poland), Croix de Guerre (Belgium), Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium).Wars/Conflicts: 2nd Boer War, Anglo Somali War, World War I (Western Front), Polish Soviet War, World War II (Europe and Pacific).Wounded: 11 times, including face, groin, head, stomach, lungs, ankle, leg, hip, and ear.Body Parts Lost: Left eye, left hand, part of left ear.Plane Crashes Survived: 2Prison Escapes: 7Favorite Pastime: Hunting wild boars with a spear.Friends With: Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Prince Karol Mikołaj Radziwiłł, Marshal Pilsudski, Pope Pius XI, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai Shek, and Clement Attlee.Married to: Countess Friederike Maria Karoline Henriette Rosa Sabina Franziska Fugger von Babenhausen, Ruth Myrtle Muriel Joan McKechnieNotable Quotes: “Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose.”Notable Instances of Badassery- Shot in the groin and stomach during the Boer Wars, recovered and returned to combat.-While fighting against Mohammed “The Mad Mullah” bin Abdullah in Somalia he was shot in the face twice, losing an eye.  Continued fighting.-World War I — Took command of three infantry battalions and a brigade when his superiors were killed.  Led from the front at all times.-Bit off his own mangled fingers when a surgeon refused to amputate them.-Shot through the skull and ankle at the Battle of the Somme, through the hip at the Battle of Passchendaele, through the leg at Cambrai, and through the ear at Arras.-Thoughts on World War I: “Frankly, I enjoyed the war.”-Supplied weapons to the Polish during the Polish Soviet War.-Fought in a gunfight against a band of angry Cossacks.-Seconded in a duel with Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, later commander-in-chief of Finnish armies in World War II and President of Finland.-World War II — House in Poland was bombed (with him in it) when the Germans invaded in 1939.  Escaped in a car to Romania as the German Air Force attempted to strafe and bomb him.-Led British Ski Commandos in Norway.-Survived airplane crash in the Mediterranean.  Swam 1 mile in freezing water to shore. Was captured by the enemy.-The enemy considered him too “disabled” to live in a POW camp.  He was offered the chance to return home if he resigned from the British Army.  He refused and instead escaped from a POW camp after digging a tunnel for 7 months.-In the last years of the war and after he served as a British ambassador in China.  Enjoyed watching Allied and Japanese fighters dogfighting from the bridge of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.-Interrupted a propaganda speech by Mao Tse Tung to tell him he was a lunatic.-In his old age he fell and injured his back.  During the resulting back surgery doctors removed “an incredible amount of shrapnel”. -- source link

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