The Soldier of Fortune for March 2024 represents Captain John S. Maloney who served as the Regimental Chaplain for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Maloney was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after assisting medics in administering first aid to the wounded under intense enemy machine-gun fire and further assisting in their evacuation under continuous mortar fire.

US Paratrooper Wild Bill Guarnere recounts “Everyone was running… smoke everywhere… it was chaos. Everyone’s screaming for medics. Father Maloney ran around giving last rites… He had no weapons on him, just carried a cross. He was all over like a ghost, running in and out. If you were fighting and not hurt, you didn’t pay attention to what he was doing at the time, but if you got wounded, and you didn’t know if you were going to survive, his presence was important. Thinking back, he inspired the men; it was like having the Lord himself come down to visit you. You know you’re not alone; someone cared for you.”

Maloney was the inspiration for the famous scene in the incredible Band of Brothers TV series where a US Airborne Chaplain calmly attends the fallen whilst under fire:

Models supplied unassembled and unpainted