75 years ago, Audie Murphy earned his Medal of Honor with nothing but a burning tank destroyer's .50 cal and insane bravery
Jared Keller January 25, 2020 at 10:22 PM
On January 26, 1945, the most decorated U.S. service member of World War II earned his legacy in a fiery fashion.
Audie Murphy — then a second lieutenant commanding Company B of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division — found himself surrounded by six German tanks and wave after wave of enemy infantry while fighting in Holtzwihr, France. Rather than retreat with his men, Murphy made a gutsy decision: He ordered his soldiers withdraw to the cover of nearby forest and set up their artillery while he remained at his forward command post to direct their fire.
Things quickly took a turn for the worse. A nearby Allied tank destroyer burst into flames following a direct hit from an enemy tank, its crew fleeing to the woods and leaving Murphy alone. But Murphy didn't shrink from the oncoming onslaught of German armor; instead, he mounted the burning tank destroyer and took on wave after wave of German infantry with nothing more than the vehicle's .50 caliber machine gun and superhuman determination.
From his Medal of Honor citation:
"Second 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," the citation reads. His bravery also earned him a spot in the history books as one of the most highly-decorated heroes in U.S. military history — and set a new standard for courage under fire in the process.
Here's to you, Audie Murphy. There isn't a field in Valhalla that can hold balls as enormous as yours.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.