LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Audie Murphy: United States
built 277 days ago
Audie Murphy received a severe hip wound from a German mortar on October 26, 1944. Tired of the monotony of hospital life, he took it upon himself to rejoin Company B. He was still in a state of convalescence on January 26, 1945 when Audie earned the Nation's highest tribute for action in the Riedwihr Woods near Holtzwihr, France. The Third Division was engaged in fierce fighting in the Colmar Pocket which consisted of a heavily fortified bulge stretching from the Rhine into France. At midnight on January 25, Company B moved through the Riedwihr Woods, but fierce fighting reduced the company to two officers and about 28 men. Despite five replacements, the company remained critically under strength. As the senior ranking officer, Audie was placed in charge of the company and was ordered to advance to the edge of the forest and hold the line until relieved.
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Audie Murphy was killed in a plane crash on a mountaintop near Roanoke, Virginia on May 28, 1971. Fittingly, his body was recovered 2 days later on Memorial Day. He is the greatest combat soldier in the 200-year plus history of the United States.
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Immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Murphy — then just seventeen years old — tried to enlist in the military in order to fight back. But the services rejected him because he had not yet reached the required 18 years of age. Shortly after turning 18 in June of 1942, Murphy was finally accepted into the United States Army, after first being turned down by the Marines and the paratroopers for being underweight and of slight build. He was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas, for basic training. During a session of close order drill, he passed out. His company commander then tried to have him transferred to a cook and bakers' school because of his baby-faced youthfulness and apparent physical weaknesses, but Murphy insisted on becoming a combat soldier.
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Some of the most memorable words spoken by Sgt. Audie Leon Murphy, the most decorated Soldier in the history of the United States Army. But they were more than just words to him; they were a code he truly lived by. That is why those words are ... the motto of the Sgt.
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Immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Murphy (then just 17 years old) tried to enlist in the military, but the services rejected him for being underage. In June 1942, shortly after his 18th birthday, Murphy was accepted into the United States Army, at Greenville, after being turned down by the Marines and the paratroopers for being too short (5'5") and of slight build . He was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas, for basic training and during a session of close order drill, passed out. His company commander tried to have him transferred to a cook and bakers' school because of his baby-faced youthfulness, but Murphy insisted on becoming a combat soldier. His wish was granted: after 13 weeks of basic training, he was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for advanced infantry training....
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Because of his small stature, Murphy still had to "fight the system" to get overseas and into combat. His persistence paid off, and in early 1943 he was shipped out to Casablanca, Morocco as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (United States), 3rd Infantry Division.[4] Murphy saw no action in Africa, but instead participated in extensive training maneuvers along with the rest of the 3rd Division. His combat initiation finally came when he took part in the liberation of Sicily on July 10, 1943.[1][4] Shortly after arriving, Murphy was promoted to corporal[1] after killing two Italian officers as they tried to escape on horseback. He contracted malaria[2][5] while in Sicily, an illness which put him in the hospital several times during his Army years.[5]
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