Ralph Rush, a Scout in General George S. Patton's World War II Intelligence & Reconnaisance Platoons went from digging up German mines to being the first American to enter the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp; the first concentration camp liberated by the Allies.
Through the perils of air combat, and an emergency landing behind enemy lines in Italy, Hank Sciaroni utilized his capability to speak Italian to help get him and his men to safety as the Germans closed in.