I’m not sure what sort of generational B.S. name that Paul Smith was born in (1969), but Murphy’s heriocs reminded me of Smith’s heroics in the second Gulf War at the airport in Baghdad. I imagine a lot of our perspective is that the MSM (including Tom Brokaw) see WWII as the last “good” war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ray_Smith
“...Smith (13 years of duty) organized the evacuation of the injured M113 crewmen. However, behind the courtyard was a military aid station crowded with 100 combat casualties. To protect it from being overrun, Smith chose to fight on rather than withdraw with the wounded.
...The Iraqis now had the Americans in the courtyard under an intense crossfire. Smith took command of the M113 and ordered a driver to position it so that he could attack both the tower and the trenches [200 Iraqi fighters in the trenches]. He manned the M113’s machine gun, going through three boxes of ammunition. A separate team led by First Sergeant Tim Campbell attacked the tower from the rear, killing the Iraqis. As the battle ended, Smith’s machine gun fell silent. His comrades found him slumped in the turret hatch. His armored vest was peppered with 13 bullet holes...”
Before deploying to Iraq Smith had written to his parents, “There are two ways to come home, stepping off the plane and being carried off the plane. It doesn’t matter how I come home, because I am prepared to give all that I am to ensure that all my boys make it home.”
Murphy was a war machine, what was described in this thread is just one day’s worth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy#World_War_II_service
Awards
Medal of Honor ribbon.svg Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star ribbon.svg Silver Star (2)
Legion of Merit ribbon.svg Legion of Merit
Bronze Star ribbon.svg Bronze Star (2) (1 “V”)
Purple Heart BAR.svg Purple Heart (3)
Army Good Conduct ribbon.svg Good Conduct
Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg Presidential Unit Citation (2)
American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg European-Africa-Middle Eastern Campaign (10 campaign) (Arrowhead device)
World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg WWII Victory
Army of Occupation ribbon.svg Army of Occupation w/Germany clasp
Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg French Legion of Honor
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm (France) - ribbon bar.png French Croix de Guerre (3)
Croix de Guerre 1940-1945 with palm (Belgium) - ribbon bar.png Belgian Croix de Guerre
Combat Infantry Badge.svg Combat Infantryman Badge