He was shot in the chest outside of Bastogne when a platoon he was leading was pinned down by a concealed German machine gun.

A deck of playing cards partially deflected the bullet and Means was able to crawl behind the gun and jump the soldiers manning it - killing three of them.

[3] After his discharge in January 1946, Means worked as a veterinary assistant in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

[3] The couple moved to Turf Meadow Farm in Essex, Massachusetts, which had been purchased by Means' father years before.

[7] Means owned a large livestock farm that had a sizable amount of cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys, bison, and hogs.

[2][3][8] He was also involved in a number of other businesses; he was president of the Essex Lumber Co., president and treasurer of Means Chevrolet-Oldsmobile in Ipswich, Massachusetts, managing director of a hotel in Aruba, and owner of a shopping center in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.

He also served as president of the Essex County Agricultural Society, which runs the Topsfield Fair.