Audie Murphy’s single handed battle, kills 50, holds line -

ww2today.com ^ | 1/26/2015

[virgil283]

today 26 Jan 1944-"Lieutenant Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Lieutenant Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. ..."

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[virgil283]

"...For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he personally killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy’s indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy’s objective. -"

[SgtHooper]

Impressive!! And humbled by such bravery.

[yarddog]

Has anyone else noticed how many of these courageous men were country boys?

Murphy was from rural Texas. Sgt. York from rural Tennsssee, Carlos Hathcock from rural Arkansas.

[353FMG]

The original Mr. Cool.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“The original Mr. Cool.”

YES! 1000 times!

[Talisker]

Where were his men during all of this time? Hiding safely behind the trees?

Reminds me of the movie "High Noon."

[Williams]

Played himself in the movie, and I thought he was great in Destry Rides Again. I think he met a sad end.

[TADSLOS]

I just passed by the Audie Murphy Museum in Greeneville, TX yesterday. Another great American hero from flyover country.

[Nachoman]

Not bad for a guy who didn’t meet the physical requirements for military service. I loved when he said (paraphrased) “I wasn’t trying to be a hero, I was trying to stay alive!”

[NEWwoman]

BTTT

What an inspiration to keep fighting for what is right, even against the odds.

[JimSEA]

The funny thing is that I can’t recall anyone here calling him a coward or a murderer. In fact, he was even forgiven his subpar acting because people wanted to see him. A little guy who was a giant. RIP

[fatnotlazy]

A member of the Greatest Generation. You don’t find that kind of courage too often nowadays.

Rest in peace.

[ryan71]

He was on top of a tank mowing down Germans with a .50 cal? What a coward! Michael “Jabba” Moore

[jazusamo]

Good post!

.

Audie L. Murphy, MOH Recipient
The most decorated American combat soldier of World War II.
Awards

[edpc]

The same is true for many fighter pilots. One in particular.....and his name escapes me at the moment....attributed his shooting skills to bird hunting as a kid. You have to lead the target properly for accurate fire.

[yarddog]

Maybe another pilot said it too but Chuck Yeager said something similar in his book. He also mentioned the part about the best pilots being country boys.

[DaxtonBrown]

Watch the movie, in which he stars. Quite impressive.

[Born to Conserve]

I wish the military would reserve the left breast for VALOR medals, and pin all the BS medals on their rears.

Some of our pinboard generals and admirals have ZERO valor medals.

[Cicero]

Where were his men during all of this time? Hiding safely behind the trees?

Obeying orders.