Examining US-American soldiers who fought in the conflict, experts from the University of Southampton and universities in Germany and Amsterdam discovered that Medal of Honor recipients fathered more offspring than the regular veterans. From a control sample of 449 regular veterans and 123 surviving Medal of Honor recipients, the team found that Medal of Honor recipients had an average of 3.18 children, while regular veterans averaged 2.72 children.

To find their control sample, the researchers collected biographical data from online obituaries and newspaper articles. The team argues: “This is a valid control group because a majority of the US-American soldiers of WWII were conscribed to conduct their military service in the war (about 61%; Flynn, 1993), and because a large share of all US-American men aged 18–45 at the time served during WWII.”

The researchers also note that “much of the reproductive phase of these soldiers falls within the time before contraceptives became publicly available in the early 1960s”.