There are about 1.3 million active duty servicemen and servicewomen enlisted in the U.S. military, and 85% are stationed on bases in every state throughout the United States; the rest are stationed abroad.

Some bases are cities unto themselves. Places like Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas have tens of thousands servicemen, servicewomen, and family members stationed at those facilities, each, located in states with the most people in the military.

With that many people, these bases generate a lot of news, which is why each service branch has periodicals and websites that disseminate news pertinent to the military and their families. 24/7 Wall St. has reviewed news from these sites as well as other media outlets to compile the best military stories of the last month.

Included in the stories this past month are a man who overcame cancer to become a Marine; an Army officer who competed in her 100th marathon; a Coast Guardsman who saved a woman from drowning; a former Iraqi interpreter for U.S. forces who became an American citizen; and a new statue unveiled for Civil War general and 18th president Ulysses S. Grant.

Among the themes that developed from the stories reviewed is that many times service members perform extraordinary acts not just on the battlefield and are among the year’s biggest heroes. Here are the best military stories of the month.

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24/7 Wall St. has compiled the best military stories of the past month by reviewing articles that appeared in the Military Times, Army Times, Navy Times, and Air Force Times as well as media resources such as the Associated Press and regional newspapers such as The Virginian-Pilot.