WWII Hero Audie Murphy: ‘How Come I’m Not Dead?’ (Holtzwihr battle 80 years ago today)

History.com ^ | 08/29/2018 | Evan Andrews

[DFG]

Holtzwihr battle on January 26, 1945 is 80 years ago today. 19 year old Audie Murphy earns his MOH.

Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum is in Greenville, TX (east of Dallas on I-30).

https://cottonmuseum.com/

Born in Kingston, TX.

Grew up in Farmersville, Greenville, and Celeste in northeast of Dallas.

7th of 12 kids. Dropped out in the 5th grade.

Enlisted at age 17 in the Army after being turned down by the Navy and Marines for being underage and underweight.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for posting. He was an amazing man. I remember hearing about him in the 50s when I was a kid. I don’t think I’ve ever watched “To Hell and Back”.

[EnderWiggin1970]

pre-prepared

*facepalm*

Good article otherwise. ;-)

[edwinland]

Never tire of that story no matter how many times i hear it.

[FreedomPoster]

I walked that ground 7-8 years ago. He was up against a platoon of Jagdpanthers, turretless Panther tank destroyers with 88mm guns. He basically single-handedly (with arty support) stripped off their infantry support, and the armor was afraid to overrun him in the woods, worried about satchel charges and such. They didn’t know he was essentially alone just inside the tree line.

[HighSierra5]

I loved, still love Little Texas.

[Big Red Badger]

‘To Hell and Back’
.
We Are a Warrior Breed.

[montag813]

80 YEAR AGO TODAY! HOW THE F-ING HELL IS THIS NOT ***THE*** NATIONAL NEWS STORY IN AMERICA? The media are disgraceful pigs.

[Eli Kopter]

Great movie...

[Arkady]

Thanks for posting! If I were king, I’d make this Audie Murphy Day and every kid would grow up learning about him.

[alstewartfan]

He was my favorite Western movie star, by far.

[Sequoyah101]

I never tire of that. There is something deeply American about it.

[broken_clock]

Agreed. This is the history we should be teaching and celebrating.

[Macho MAGA Man]

We should have a Sergeant Alvin York Day, too!

[FLT-bird]

He grew up really poor. He had to hunt rabbits and squirrels and the like to feed himself and his siblings. That’s how he became such a deadly shot. That’s also why he was so underweight the Marines rejected him. He was only 5’5 and 112 pounds. The Army put a few pounds on him but he was still a thin little fellow. You look at that baby face and can hardly believe what a stone cold killer he was on the battlefield but that chest full of medals attests to the fact that he was quite a fierce warrior.

[GOPJ]

Once the shooting began, he knew his instincts would take over. “The nerves will relax,” he later wrote, “the heart, stop its thumping. The brain will turn to animal cunning. The job is directly before us: destroy and survive.” ... But despite having won several dozen medals for valor, he always resisted attempts to label him a hero. “Bravery is just determination to do a job that you know has to be done,” he told reporters upon returning home in 1945. “I just fought to stay alive, like anyone else, I guess.”

Great story - thanks for posting.

[stylin19a]

one doesn’t win a silver star...

[LouAvul]

Bless his heart. He was a tortured soul. He bore guilt from the men he killed. Never mind that the men he killed were killed while they were trying to kill the men under Audie’s command.

[Bearshouse]

I was such an Audie Murphy fan growing up that I just knew someday I would have a chance to meet him. I remember the day he died, my Mother In Law made a special trip to my house and said “Sit down, I have some really bad news”. It kind of felt like the earth was off kilter for a while.

[Paal Gulli]

Twenty-year-old Audie Murphy came home from the war with a Medal of Honor, a Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Stars, a Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Stars (1 with “V” device), 3 Purple Hearts, a French Legion of Honour, a French Croix de Guerre with silver star, three French Croix de Guerre with palm, and a Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm.

But if this were to happen today, he would be too young to buy a rifle or shotgun in four states (and DC), or a handgun in 11 states (and DC).