To Hell And Back (Remembering Audie Murphy, June 20, 1925 - May 28, 1971)

http://the-american-catholic.com ^ | June 20, 2014 | Donald R. McClarey

[NKP_Vet]

Today would be the 88th birthday of Audie Murphy if he had not died in a plane crash, fittingly enough on Memorial Day weekend, forty-three years ago.

In the Fifties actor Audie Murphy achieved stardom, mainly in Westerns. Murphy looked like a typical Hollywood “pretty boy” but he was anything but. From a family of 12 in Texas, he was the sixth child, Murphy had dropped out of school in the fifth grade to help support his dirt poor family after his worthless father ran off. His mother died in 1941. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army at 16, lying about his birthday, partially to help support his younger brothers and sister and partially because he dreamed of a military career. He served with the Third Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. By the end of the War, just before his 19th birthday, he was a First Lieutenant and had earned, in hellish combat, a Medal of Honor, a Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, a Legion of Merit, a French Legion of Honor, a French Croix de Guerre, a Belgian Croix de Guerre, two Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts. He was the most decorated soldier of the US Army in World War 2. Here is his Medal of Honor Citation which helps explain why Murphy entitled his war memoir To Hell and Back:

[NKP_Vet]

“I never liked being called the ‘most decorated’ soldier. There were so many guys who should have gotten medals and never did–guys who were killed.”

Audie Murphy

http://www.audiemurphy.com/

[rktman]

RIP Audie. And thanks.

[Enterprise]

"Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire."

Considering that he was using a .50 caliber, they were mowed down and put through a wood chipper.

[mountainlion]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001559/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[GreyFriar]

NKP, Thank you for the reminder of this valiant and humble soldier’s birth 88 years ago.

His memory and spirit remains alive in the US Army via the “Sergeant Audie Murphy Club” to which outstanding soldiers are nominated.

See these two websites:

http://www.audiemurphy.com/samc.htm

http://carlislebarracks.carlisle.army.mil/about/AudieMurphy/audidocs/audidocs/USAWCSAMCStudyGuide.pdf

[Tupelo]

As a result of the Anzio Landing, Audie Murphy hated General Mark Clark, whom he personally blamed for the deaths of many of his friends and comrades. One story I have read was, Murphy was to give Clark a tour of a movie studio as a publicity stunt for the movie. “To Hell and Back”.
Story goes Murphy made Clark wait while he had lunch or worked or something like that. Told that he was ‘keeping the GENERAL waiting’, Murphy responded, Let the Son of a Bitch wait, I have the Medal. Murphy did understand the protocol for the Medal of Honor.

[Second Amendment First]

I remember reading “To Hell and Back” in high school. What a different place America was then.

[DeFault User]

Most movies exaggerate the exploits of the heroes. After watching To Hell and Back recently, I reread Murphy's Medal of Honor Citation and came to the same conclusion as the author of the article.

His battlefield exploits were toned down, partially out of modesty by Murphy, but also because the reality of what he did would have seemed simply unbelievable on the screen.

[Tax-chick]

I saw one of his uniforms in a museum in Texas. He was tiny.

[Bobalu]

God bless little Audie, the real life “Little Big Man”

[rjsimmon]

I saw one of his uniforms in a museum in Texas. He was tiny.

A truly great American. Tried to join the Corps but was rejected due to age and weight.

[vetvetdoug]

I remembered when all of Lt. Murphy's awards, uniforms, weapons and memorabilia was on display in Willie Nelson's little museum across from the Opryland Hotel. I was stunned that this heroic man's personal items were in a small tourist museum and not at the Smithsonian or a major Army museum. They have since been moved.

[Covenantor]

I saw one of his uniforms in a museum in Texas. He was tiny.

He tried to enlist in the Marine Corps first. USMC said that at five foot five and 110 pounds he was too small. Next Audie Murphy tried the Navy with the same results. Finally he tried the Army which took him.

Audie Murphy on right

[miss marmelstein]

And everyone show your kids Audie’s classic film “The Red Badge of Courage” directed by John Huston. He and Bill Mauldin are both touching and funny as two silly young boys who are forced to become men.

Also, his other gem “The Unforgiven,” also directed by Huston in which Audie plays a racist cowboy - he’s terrific. Huston always called Murphy “his killer angel.”

He never really got treated for serious PTSD which led to trouble with alcohol and violence and gambling. He actually borrowed money from the Mob to fund his gambling. Poor man.

[oh8eleven]

“I never liked being called the ‘most decorated’ soldier. There were so many guys who should have gotten medals and never did – guys who were killed.”
Same thing the three surviving Iwo Jima flag raisers said - the real heroes were the ones who didn't make it.

[Tax-chick]

He never really got treated for serious PTSD ...

Few veterans of his generation did.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping and the links. May he rest in peace.

[miss marmelstein]

There’s another fine film called “Captain Newman, M.D.” which starred Gregory Peck as a shrink dealing with “shell-shocked” vets. So there was some acknowledgement of psychiatric problems after WWII. And the British attempted to treat shell shocked victims during WWI - well, when they were not executing soldiers for cowardice, lol.

[WKUHilltopper]

Can you imagine the swishy “actors” we have now doing what Audy and other combat veteran actors had to do? Those guys were real men. What we have now are trendies and metro-sexuals. pathetic.

[NKP_Vet]

There’s a video I saw of Murphy being interviewed in the 60s about his war experiences. The interviewer tried his best to get Audie to talk about his battles and medals and what it was like being a hero. Murphy would have no part of it. The only thing he said about the war was he had a lot of buddies killed and they were the heroes. The interviewer asked him what was he remembered most about the war. Without hesitation Murphy said “the day it ended”. He also did a lot for the VA, especially on PTSD, addressing Congress a couple of times, trying to get more funding for PTSD. He slept with a pistol under his pillow to the day he died. RIP Lt Murphy. Your name should be in the dictionary when someone looks up the definition of a man.