Ballad of Audie Murphy

Audie Leon Murphy
was the most decorated American soldier of WWII.

He was awarded the:

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster
U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal
Good Conduct Medal
Presidential Unit Citation with First Oak Leaf Cluster
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France)
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Combat Infantry Badge
Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar
Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar
French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre
French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier
French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Medal of Liberated France
Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm

Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, 01692509, 15th Infantry, Army of the United States, on 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. 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. 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.

Music: The Ballad of Audie Murphy, by Wiley J. Smith. Pics: To Hell and Back, starring the same Murphy as himself, Universal, 1955.
Visit: http://www.audiemurphy.com/

Lyrics

His name was Audie Murphy just a Texas farmer lad.
His country found itself in war; he tried to lend a hand,
He volunteered to fight and die for freedom with a smile;
He was too young to carry a gun and had to wait a while.
He reached 18 and tried again, this time they let him in;
The soldiers called him Baby Face and he took it with a grin;
But he told the men of the Fighting 3rd Dont judge me by my size,
I may be small, but I bet you all, Ill spit in the Germans eyes
He learned the deadly game of war and they shipped him off to France.
And soon he heard the rumble of the deadly German tanks,
Some men started praying but he stood there in his tracks,
He sure looked tall and they heard him call Well fight to hell and back
Though he was badly wounded Audie never left his gun,
He killed 240 men and made the Germans run;
And when the fight was over, the men all gathered round,
To shake the hand of the Texas man that backed the Germans down.
He fought 100 battles, and he never turned to run,
The President sent for him when he heard what he had done;
Gave him the highest honor our country has to give,
He said You didnt fight in vain as long as freedom lives.
His plane went down, the searchers found him on a mountain side,
And our country mourned its loss; our hero son had died
Though he will live forever as long as men are free
This little man that took a stand to fight for liberty