Audie Murphy

History
Murphy was born in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas,[7 ] [dead link] to the very poor Irish sharecropper[4 ] [7 ] Emmett Berry Murphy and his wife Josie Bell Killian.[7 ] [8 ] He grew up on farms near Farmersville and Greenville, Texas, and near Celeste, Texas. He was the sixth of twelve children,[7 ] [8 ] two of whom died before reaching adulthood.[1 ] [7 ] Emmet and Josie's children were, in order, Corrine, Charles Emmett "Buck", Vernon, June, Oneta, Audie Leon, J.W., Richard, Eugene, Nadine, Billie, and Joseph Murphy. Audie attended elementary school in Celeste until his father abandoned the family in 1936. He dropped out in the fifth grade[7 ] to help support his family. He worked for one dollar per day, plowing and picking cotton on any farm that would hire him.[7 ]

Murphy became very skilled with a rifle, hunting small game like squirrels, rabbits, and birds to help feed the family.[1 ] One of his favorite hunting companions was neighbor Dial Henley. When Henley commented that Murphy never missed what he shot at, Murphy replied, "Well, Dial, if I don't hit what I shoot at, my family won't eat today."[9 ] On May 23, 1941, when Murphy was 16, his mother died.[7 ] Murphy worked at a combination general store, garage and gas station in Greenville.[7 ] Boarded out, he worked in a radio repair shop. Later that year, with the approval of his older, married sister Corrine, who was unable to help, Murphy placed his three youngest siblings in an orphanage<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EJbio_6-9">[7 ] to ensure their care. (He reclaimed them after World War II).

Murphy had long dreamed of joining the military. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Murphy tried to enlist in the military, but the services rejected him because he was underage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-2">[5] In June 1942, shortly after his 17th birthday, his sister Corrine adjusted his birth date so he appeared to be 18 and legally able to enlist. His war memoirs, To Hell and Back, maintained this misinformation, leading to later confusion and contradictory statements about his year of birth.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMRF5_9-0">[10] Murphy tried once again to enlist but was turned down by the Marines and the U.S. Army paratroopers because he was too short and underweight at 5 feet 5.5 inches (166.4 cm) and 110 pounds (50 kg). The Navy also turned him down for being underweight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ammem_3-2">[4] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-3">[5] The United States Army finally accepted him <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-4">[5] and he was inducted at Greenville<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-HTO_7-2">[8] and sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for basic training.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-8">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-HTO_7-3">[8] During a session of close order drill, he passed out. His company commander tried to have him transferred to a cook and bakers' school<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EJbio_6-10">[7] because of his baby-faced youthfulness,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-5">[5] but Murphy insisted on becoming a combat soldier. His wish was granted: after 13 weeks of basic training,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EJbio_6-11">[7] he was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for advanced infantry training.

Murphy still had to "fight the system" to get overseas and into action. His persistence paid off, and in early 1943 he was shipped out to Casablanca, Morocco as a replacement in 3rd Platoon, Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-6">[5] Murphy saw no action in Africa, but instead participated in extensive training maneuvers along with the rest of the 3rd Division. His combat initiation finally came when he took part in the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-10">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-7">[5] Shortly after arriving, Murphy was promoted to corporal<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-11">[1] after killing two Italian officers as they tried to escape on horseback. He contracted malaria<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EJbio_6-12">[7] while in Sicily, an illness which put him in the hospital several times during his Army years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EJbio_6-13">[7]

After Sicily was secured from Axis forces, the 3rd Division invaded the Italian mainland, landing near Salerno<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-12">[1] in September 1943.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-8">[5] While leading a night patrol, Murphy and his men ran into German soldiers but fought their way out of an ambush, taking cover in a rock quarry.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-13">[1] The German command sent a squad of soldiers in, but they were stopped by intense machine-gun and rifle fire.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-14">[1] Three German soldiers were killed and several others captured.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-15">[1] As a result of his actions at Salerno, Murphy was promoted to sergeant.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-16">[1]

Murphy distinguished himself in action on many occasions while in Italy, fighting at the Volturno River,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-9">[5] at the Anzio beachhead,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-10">[5] and in the cold, wet Italian mountains. While in Italy, his skills as a combat infantryman earned him promotions and decorations for valor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-11">[5]

Following its participation in the Italian campaign, the 3rd Division landed in Southern France<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-12">[5] on August 15, 1944 as part of Operation Anvil-Dragoon.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-13">[5] Shortly thereafter, Murphy's best friend, Lattie Tipton (referred to as "Brandon" in Murphy's book To Hell and Back), was killed by a German soldier in a machine gun nest who was feigning surrender.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-17">[1] Murphy went into a rage,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-18">[1] and single-handedly wiped out the German machine gun crew which had just killed his friend.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-19">[1] He then used the German machine gun and grenades to destroy several other nearby enemy positions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-20">[1] For this act, Murphy received the Distinguished Service Cross<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-21">[1] (second in precedence only to the Medal of Honor).

During seven weeks of fighting in that campaign in France, Murphy's division suffered 4,500 casualties.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-14">[5] Just weeks later, he received two Silver Stars for further heroic actions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-22">[1] Murphy, by now a staff sergeant and holding the position of Platoon Sergeant, was eventually awarded a battlefield commission to second lieutenant, which elevated him to the Platoon Leader position.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-23">[1] He was wounded in the hip by a sniper's ricocheting bullet 12 days after the promotion<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-24">[1] and spent ten weeks recuperating.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-25">[1] Within days of returning to his unit, and still bandaged, he became company commander (January 25, 1945), and suffered further wounds from a mortar round which killed two others nearby.

The next day, January 26 (the temperature was 14 °F (−10 °C) with 24 inches (61 cm) of snow on the ground), his unit participated in the battle at Holtzwihr, France.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-26">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-15">[5] After fighting for some time, Murphy's unit was reduced to an effective strength of 19 out of 128. Murphy sent all of the remaining men to the rear<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-16">[5] while he shot at the Germans until he ran out of ammunition. He then climbed aboard an abandoned, burning tank destroyer and used its .50 caliber machine gun<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-27">[1] to cut down the German infantry,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-17">[5] including one full squad of German infantry who crawled in a ditch to within 100 feet (30 m) of his position. He was able to call in artillery fire using a land-line telephone and, under heavy fire, was wounded in the leg.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-28">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-18">[5] He nonetheless continued his nearly single-handed battle for almost an hour.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-29">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-19">[5] He only stopped fighting when his telephone line to the artillery fire direction center was cut by enemy artillery. As his remaining men moved forward, he quickly organized them into a counter-attack<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-30">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-20">[5] which ultimately drove the enemy from Holtzwihr.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-21">[5] For these actions, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-31">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-22">[5]

When asked after the war why he had seized the machine gun and taken on an entire company of German infantry, he replied simply, "They were killing my friends."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-stripes_10-0">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-oettinger_11-0">[12]

Murphy was removed from the front lines and made a liaison officer. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on February 22, 1945. On June 2, 1945, Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, commander of the US Seventh Army, presented him with the Medal of Honor and Legion of Merit. The Legion of Merit was given him for meritorious service with the 3rd Infantry Division in France from January 22 to February 18, 1945. On June 10, Murphy left Paris by plane and arrived in San Antonio, Texas four days later.

Murphy was awarded 33 U.S. decorations and medals, five medals from France, and one from Belgium.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-32">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-23">[5] He received every U.S. decoration for valor available to Army ground personnel at the time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-oettinger_11-1">[12] He earned the Silver Star twice in three days, two Bronze Star Medals, three Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor.

Murphy was credited with destroying six tanks in addition to killing over 240 German soldiers and wounding and capturing many others.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-24">[5] His principal U.S. decorations included the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars with Valor device, and three Purple Hearts. Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France. During the French Campaign, Murphy was awarded two Presidential Citations, one from the 3rd Inf, Division, and one from the 15th Inf. Regiment during the Holtzwihr action.

The French government awarded Murphy its Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMmedal_13-0">[14] He also received two Croix de guerre medals from France<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMmedal_13-1">[14] and the Croix de guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMmedal_13-2">[14] In addition, Murphy was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. (A complete list of his awards and decorations appears later in this article.) He spent 29 months overseas and just under two years in combat with the 3rd Infantry Division, all before he turned 21.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-25">[5]

In early June 1945, one month after Germany's surrender, he returned from Europe to a hero's welcome in his home state of Texas,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-26">[5] where he was feted with parades, banquets, and speeches. Murphy was discharged from active duty with the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas on August 17, 1945,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-HTO_7-5">[8] and discharged from the U.S. Army on September 21, 1945.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMEDD_0-35">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ANC_4-27">[5]

Murphy garnered nationwide recognition, appearing on the cover of Life magazine for July 16, 1945. After the Korean War broke out in June 1950, Murphy joined the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas National Guard; however, that division was not called up for combat duty. By the time he left the Guard in 1966, Murphy had attained the rank of Major.

Murphy's medals and awards are on display at the Dallas Scottish Rite Temple Museum (500 South Harwood Street, Dallas, TX 75201) and the China Room of the 15th Infantry Regiment (Kelley Hill, Fort Benning, Georgia).

(From Wikipedia)

Battle
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