The most decorated American soldier ever
When Audie Murphy joined the U.S. Army after America entered World War II, he stood 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed 112 pounds. If, at that time, he had put on the dress uniform he would wear at the war’s end, he might have weighed (exaggerating slightly) around 120 pounds, due to the weight of the medals for valor on his dress coat.
The most decorated American soldier ever, Murphy received nearly every combat award America had to offer during WWII, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Legion of Merit. Wounded three times, Murphy also earned a Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters.
But his defining moment occurred in January 1945 near the small village of Holtzwihr, France. There, Second Lieutenant Murphy and his men were attacked by six German Tiger tanks and approximately 250 German infantry, which quickly knocked out the two tank destroyers attached to Murphy’s unit. Murphy then ordered his men to withdraw while he directed artillery fire, but the Germans kept coming “as though nothing would stop them,” Murphy later said.
So, Murphy scrambled up to the machine gun mounted atop one of his disabled tank destroyers, not knowing if the gun was even operational but not having any other options. Miraculously, the machine gun worked, so he began mowing down the German soldiers, figuring that if the German Tiger tanks had no infantry to accompany their advance, they would withdraw. An eyewitness later said, “He killed them in the draws, in the meadows, in the woods, wherever he saw them.” At one point the tank’s artillery phone rang, and when Murphy answered it, still firing the machine gun, he was asked, “How close are they to your position?”
“Just hold the phone and I’ll let you talk to one of the bastards,” Murphy replied.
When it was over, Murphy had singlehandedly stopped the German advance, for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Murphy’s postwar life centered around a mediocre movie career, starting with playing himself in the movie “To Hell and Back,” based on his life, and although he was cast in some 45 films, his box-office appeal steadily waned. His postwar life was also marked by recurring nightmares, shattered nerves, bouts of panic and a profound sadness that, in hindsight, was probably caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. Also, he was an inveterate gambler with mounting financial difficulties.
He died this week (May 28) in 1971, in a plane crash near Catawba, Va. He was 45 years old. Like too many other soldiers, Murphy went to “Hell and Back,” but he didn’t get back all in one piece.
Bruce G. Kauffmann’s email address is bruce@historylessons.net.