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MOST DECORATED SOLDIER IN WWII

AUDIE LEON MURPHY WAS BORN 6-20-24 IN HUNT COUNTY, TEXAS. HE WAS ONE OF TWELVE CHILDREN BORN TO HIS POOR SHARECROPPER PARENTS. FOUR OF HIS SIBLINGS DIED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.

AUDIE CHOSE THE U.S. ARMY BECAUSE HIS SIZE AND HIS YOUNG AGE WOULDN'T ALLOW HIM TO JOIN THE OTHER BRANCHES OF SERVICE. .

AMONG HIS 33 AWARDS AND DECORATIONS WAS THE MEDAL OF HONOR, THE HIGHEST MILITARY AWARD FOR BRAVERY THAT CAN BE GIVEN TO ANY INDIVIDUAL IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AWARD: "FOR CONSPICUOUS GALLENTRY AND INTREPIDITY AT THE RISK OF HIS OWN LIFE, AND ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY.".

AUDIE MURPHY ALSO RECEIVED EVERY DECORATION FOR VALOR THAT HIS COUNTRY HAD TO OFFER, SOME OF THEM MORE THAN ONCE, INCLUDING FIVE DECORATIONS FROM FRANCE AND BELGIUM..

HE WAS CREDITED WITH KILLING MORE THAN 240 OF THE ENEMY WHILE WOUNDING AND CAPTURING MANY OTHERS. HE BECAME A LEGEND WITHIN THE 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION..

BEGINNING HIS SERVICE AS AN ARMY PRIVATE, AUDIE QUICKLY ROSE TO THE ENLISTED RANK OF STAFF SERGEANT, AND WAS GIVEN A "BATTLE FIELD" COMMISSION AS 2ND LIEUTENANT. HE WAS WOUNDED THREE TIMES. HE FOUGHT IN NINE CAMPAIGNS ACROSS THE EUROPEAN THEATER, AND SURVIVED THE WAR..

DURING AUDIE'S THREE YEARS OF ACTIVE SERVICE AS A COMBAT SOLDIER IN WWII, HE BECAME ONE OF THE BEST FIGHTING COMBAT SOLDIERS OF THIS AND ANY OTHER CENTURY. WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED DURING THIS PERIOD IS MOST SIGNIFICANT AND PROBABLY WILL NEVER BE REPEATED BY ANOTHER SOLDIER, GIVEN TODAY'S HIGH-TECH TYPE OF WARFARE..

THE U.S. ARMY HAS ALWAYS DECLARED THAT THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER AUDIE L. MURPHY. ACTOR JAMES CAGNEY SAW AUDIE MURPHY ON THE COVER OF LIFE MAGAZINE, CONTACTED HIM AND INVITED HIM TO HIS HOME IN HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA. AUDIE WAS RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY IN THE FALL OF 1945, AND WAS FINALLY HOME. THAT VISIT TO HOLLYWOOD CHANGED AUDIE'S LIFE. BY 1950, HE HAD A CONTRACT WITH UNIVERSAL PICTURES. HE WAS A MOVIE STAR. .

HE STARRED IN TWENTY-SIX FILMS DURING THE NEXT FIFTEEN YEARS. TWENTY-THREE OF THE FILMS WERE WESTERNS. AUDIE WROTE HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY "TO HELL AND BACK" WHICH WAS A BEST SELLER. IN 1955, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS PRODUCED THE FILM "TO HELL AND BACK." AUDIE MURPHY STARRED AS HIMSELF. THE FILM HELD THE RECORD AS THE HIGHEST GROSSING PICTURE UNTIL 1975 WHEN IT WAS SURPASSED BY "JAWS.".

AUDIE'S FILM CAREER SPANNED 23 YEARS WITH 44 FILMS COMPLETED IN THAT TIME. HE WAS ALSO A SUCCESSFUL SONGWRITER. DOZENS OF HIS SONGS WERE RECORDED BY DEAN MARTIN, EDDY ARNOLD, CHARLEY PRIDE, PORTER WAGGONER, ROY CLARK AND MANY OTHER SINGERS. HIS TWO BIGGEST HITS WERE "SHUTTERS AND BOARDS" AND "WHEN THE WIND BLOWS IN CHICAGO.".

WHILE ON A BUSINESS TRIP ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND-1971, HE WAS KILLED AT THE AGE OF 46. A PRIVATE PLANE THAT HE WAS A PASSENGER IN, FLEW INTO A FOG AND RAIN STORM. THE PLANE CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN NEAR ROANOKE, VIRGINIA. FIVE OTHERS INCLUDING THE PILOT WERE KILLED THAT TRAGIC DAY..

ON JUNE 7TH, AUDIE L. MURPHY WAS BURIED WITH FULL MILITARY HONORS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. HIS GRAVESITE, NEAR THE AMPHITHEATER, IS THE SECOND MOST VISITED GRAVESITE YEAR ROUND. PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S GRAVE IS THE MOST VISITED..

ON JUNE 9, 1999, GOVERNOR GEORGE W. BUSH OF TEXAS, MADE A PROCLAMATION DECLARING JUNE 20TH, AUDIE MURPHY'S BIRTHDAY, TO BE AUDIE MURPHY DAY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS..

IN 1997, THE SCOTTISH RITE ORGANIZATION BESTOWED THE 33RD DEGREE TO AUDIE MURPHY, POSTHUMOUSLY. THIS IS THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF THE FREEMASONS. .

ALL THE BOYS AT IWO JIMA

THE IWO JIMA MEMORIAL IS THE LARGEST BRONZE STATUE IN THE WORLD, AND DEPICTS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHS IN HISTORY: SIX BRAVE SOLDIERS RAISING THE AMERICAN FLAG AT THE TOP OF A ROCKY HILL ON THE ISLAND OF IWO JIMA, JAPAN DURING WW11

THIS IS A TRUE STORY NARRATED BY JAMES BRADLEY WHO HAPPENED TO BE AT THE MEMORIAL ONE EVENING AS TOUR BUSES FROM A WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL ARRIVED. MR. BRADLEY HAD STOPPED BY TO PAY HIS RESPECTS AND TO SAY GOODNIGHT TO ONE OF THE SIX SOLDIERS DEPICTED ON THE STATUE: HIS FATHER, JOHN BRADLEY.

THIS IS HIS NARRATIVE AS HE SPOKE TO THE HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS AND STAFF...
"MY NAME IS JAMES BRADLEY AND I'M FROM WISCONSIN, TOO. MY DAD IS ON THAT STATUE. I JUST WROTE A BOOK CALLED, "FLAGS OF OUR FATHER'S" THAT IS ABOUT THE SIX BOYS YOU SEE ON THIS STATUE.

SIX BOYS RAISED THE FLAG. THE FIRST GUY PUTTING THE POLE IN THE GROUND IS HARLON BLOCK. HARLON WAS AN ALL-STATE FOOTBALL PLAYER. HE ENLISTED IN THE MARINE CORPS WITH ALL THE SENIOR MEMBERS OF HIS FOOTBALL TEAM. THEY WERE OFF TO PLAY ANOTHER TYPE OF GAME. A GAME CALLED "WAR." BUT IT DIDN'T TURN OUT TO BE A GAME. .

HARLON, AT THE AGE OF 21, DIED WITH HIS INTESTINES IN HIS HANDS. I DON'T SAY THAT TO GROSS YOU OUT. I SAY THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE GENERALS WHO STAND IN FRONT OF THIS STATUE AND TALK ABOUT THE GLORY OF WAR. YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW THAT MOST OF THE BOYS AT IWO JIMA WERE 17, 18, AND 19 YEARS OLD..

THE NEXT GUY IS RENE GAGNON FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE. IF YOU TOOK RENE'S HELMET OFF AT THE MOMENT THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN, AND LOOKED IN THE WEBBING OF THAT HELMET, YOU WOULD FIND A PHOTOGRAPH. IT IS A PICTURE OF HIS GIRLFRIEND, AND RENE PUT IT THERE FOR PROTECTION BECAUSE HE WAS SCARED. HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD. BOYS WON THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA. BOYS, NOT OLD MEN.

THE THIRD GUY IN THIS TABLEAU WAS SERGEANT MIKE STRANK. MIKE IS MY HERO. HE WAS THE HERO OF ALL THESE GUYS. THEYCALLED HIM THE "OLD MAN" BECAUSE HE WAS SO OLD. HE WAS ALREADY 24! WHEN MIKE MOTIVATED HIS BOYS IN TRAINING CAMP, HE DIDN'T SAY, "LET'S GO KILL SOME JAPANESE" OR "LET'S DIE FOR OUR COUNTRY." HE KNEW HE WAS TALKING TO LITTLE BOYS. HE TOLD THEM, "YOU DO WHAT I SAY, AND I'LL GET YOU HOME TO YOUR MOTHERS."

THE LAST GUY ON THIS SIDE OF THE STATUE IS IRA HAYES, A PIMA INDIAN FROM ARIZONA. IRA HAYES WALKED OFF OF IWO JIMA. HE WENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MY DAD. PRESIDENT TRUMAN TOLD HIM, "YOU'RE A HERO." HE TOLD REPORTERS, "HOW CAN I FEEL LIKE A HERO WHEN 250 OF MY BUDDIES HIT THE ISLAND WITH ME AND ONLY 27 OF US WALKED OFF ALIVE?" IRA HAYES HAD IMAGES OF HORROR IN HIS MIND. HE DIED DEAD DRUNK, FACE DOWN AT THE AGE OF 32, TEN YEARS AFTER THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN.

THE NEXT GUY AROUND THE STATUE IS FRANKLIN SOUSLEY FROM HILLTOP, KENTUCKY. HE WAS A FUN-LOVIN' HILLBILLY BOY. FRANKLIN DIED ON IWO JIMA AT THE AGE OF 19. WHEN THE TELEGRAM CAME TO TELL HIS MOTHER THAT HE WAS DEAD, IT WENT TO THE HILLTOP GENERAL STORE. A BAREFOOT BOY RAN THE TELEGRAM TO HIS MOTHER'S FARM. NEIGHBORS LIVING A QUARTER OF A MILE AWAY COULD HEAR HER SCREAM ALL NIGHT.

AS WE GO AROUND THE STATUE, THE NEXT GUY IS MY DAD, JOHN BRADLEY FROM ANTIGO, WISCONSIN WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED. MY DAD NEVER TALKED TO THE PRESS INCLUDING WALTER KRONKITE PRODUCERS AND THE NEW YORK TIMES. US KIDS ALWAYS HAD A LIST OF THINGS TO SAY TO THE PRESS AS TO WHY DAD WASN'T AVAILABLE TO TALK TO THEM.

MY DAD DIDN'T SEE HIMSELF AS A HERO. EVERYONE THOUGHT THEY WERE BECAUSE THEY WERE IN THE PHOTO AND ON THE MONUMENT. JOHN BRADLEY WAS A MEDIC. HE WAS A CAREGIVER. ON IWO JIMA HE PROBABLY HELD MORE THAN 200 BOYS AS THEY DIED. AND WHEN BOYS DIED ON IWO JIMA, THEY WRITHED AND SCREAMED IN PAIN. MY DAD TOLD ME, "I WANT YOU ALWAYS TO REMEMBER THAT THE HEROS ON IWO JIMA ARE THE GUYS WHO DID NOT CAME BACK."

THAT'S THE STORY ABOUT SIX NICE YOUNG BOYS. THREE DIED ON IWO JIMA, AND THREE CAME BACK AS NATIONAL HEROS. OVERALL, 7000 BOYS DIED ON IWO JIMA IN THE WORST BATTLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE MARINE CORPS."

JUST MINUTES AFTER THE FLAG WAS RAISED, SGT. MICHAEL STRANK, CPL. HARLON BLOCK, AND PFC FRANKLIN SOUSLEY WERE KILLED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. GOOD EVENING."

Audie Murphy bump...

and suggested viewing for lurkers/posters from the Audie Murphy filmography:

The Quiet American
based on Graham Greene's novel. Sure it's in black and white, but an interesting
view of affairs in Vietnam...before the stuff really hit the fan.
Mr. Murphy was perfect as the idealistic American (note, this was not how the
American was portrayed in book...or in the recent remake film with Micheal Caine
and Brendan Fraser...)

To Hell And Back
...just a good film about the real-life experience of Audie leading up to and including
WWII.
Good WWII film that can be viewed by younger children (understandably not graphic like
Saving Private Ryan)

oh, in case it hasn't been mentioned previously...

www.audiemurphy.com