Somewhere in Southern Iraq, April 1, 2003: Sgt. Christopher Merkle (left) and Sgt. Jose Rodriguez ducked doctors, hitched rides, begged for gear and even thought about stealing a humvee to return from a shock trauma center in Iraq to their Marine unit after sustaining injuries in a truck accident.

“I had a sense of responsibility to finish the mission,” Rodriguez said. “I made a personal promise to myself to bring everyone of my Marines home, so I had to come back to take care of them.”

Read how Merkle and Rodriguez made their way back to their fellow Marines through a war zone and without weapons here.