On January 26, 1945, 2nd Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy was commanding company B of the 15thInfantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, near the French village of Holtzwihr when six German tanks and several hundred infantrymen attacked his company.
Murphy ordered his men to fall back to defensive positions in nearby woods while he covered their withdrawal and called down artillery to slow the German advance. German fire hit an American tank destroyer nearby and set it on fire.
Witnesses later recalled how he “climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy.”
From Murphy’s exposed position on top of the burning tank destroyer, he killed over 20 German soldiers and repelled their attack.
For more than an hour, Murphy continued to fire the machine gun, despite being wounded in the leg.
He then led his company in a counterattack that killed or wounded 50 more German soldiers.
On April 23, 1945, at the age of only 19, Murphy received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
When the movie was made he insisted several exploits be left out as people would not believe them! This is one of the greatest heroes of all time.
I think it's very important to remember these heroes who made a difference.
ReplyDeleteCoisas de Feltro
I agree that he was one of the greatest hero's of our time. Such bravery and he was humble. I think it is important to remember that one person can make a difference under the right circumstances. xx
ReplyDeleteMy husband is more the history buff in the family. My son was stationed in D.C., in the Old Guard (Army), and did funeral services at Arlington, so we visited there frequently. The first place we had to find was the grave of Audie Murphy. My husband was absolutely overcome with emotion. Audie was indeed a hero.
ReplyDeleteWOW, I just loved the story of Audie's heroism. My mother was born the same month and year when he received the Medal of Honor. There's a movie made about him? That's really interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this today. True Hero!
ReplyDeleteAmazing what can be accomplished when focused on the greater good !
ReplyDeleteThat Medal is not given out carelessly , and those who receive it
have more than earned it...for some , at the cost of their own lives !
Thank you for this post !