Audie Murphy

[Czechtrecker]

I found this newspaper article (I believe from the Roanoke Times) on an Audie Murphy website. Some of you may recognize the the two thru-hikers mentioned in the article. With Memorial Day and the anniversary of of Audie Murphy's death just around the corner, I thought some may also find it interesting.


Monday was Memorial Day, as you know, but you may have missed the significance of last Sunday.

World War II hero Audie Murphy died in a plane crash May 28, 1971, at the top of Brush Mountain.

The out-of-the-way location of his death makes visiting the site a bit of an undertaking. It's a goodly drive from Blacksburg out Mount Tabor Road to a bumpy forest service road that takes you to a littered parking area. From there it's a 0.7-mile walk to the monument. But this location has actually led to a moving tribute from an unlikely source. The site is just off the Appalachian Trail, where it may get more visits from hikers than from anyone else. The monument is topped by little piles of stones. Many more stones are piled on the ground next to it.

Two through-hikers I saw there recently -- Rush Hour and Firefly were their trail names -- understood what to do, and each added their own stone. It's simple, but certainly one of the most sincere ways of honoring a veteran that I've ever seen. The many small tokens of appreciation added up to a second monument of sorts.

The original monument itself is quite nice and explains that Murphy was the most-decorated American soldier of all the men who fought in World War II. But what's missing is a photo of Murphy. The two hikers I saw seemed genuinely interested and spent longer looking at the monument than I would have expected. But I imagine that seeing his photo would have helped them realize that the man behind the many medals was a fellow about their age when he earned those decorations.

Bottom line: Through a strange fluke of geography, Audie Murphy's monument is visited by young folks who might not normally visit a military monument. I can't help but think that Murphy would be mighty pleased.

Suggested viewing: "To Hell and Back," starring Audie Murphy as Audie Murphy in the true story of his World War II heroics.
Directions: The monument is right on the border between Craig and Roanoke counties, but is easily found when driving from Blacksburg. Take North Main Street to Mount Tabor Road, which will twist and turn and offer at least one unexpected stop sign. After crossing into Roanoke County, look for a sign pointing to a forest service road. Take this to the top of the mountain and turn right. Follow this road to a parking area. Another sign here guides you to the trail that soon meets up with the Appalachian Trail. When the path splits, take the left fork up to the monument.

[Hooch]

Thanks for sharing, but, unfortunately, you're a little off on the date of Memorial Day. It's observed on the last Monday in May. This year, that date is 31 May.

[ChinMusic]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

I was most struck with this passage:


Bottom line: Through a strange fluke of geography, Audie Murphy's monument is visited by young folks who might not normally visit a military monument. I can't help but think that Murphy would be mighty pleased.

[Pacific Tortuga]

placed a seventh calvery patch on the site in 07. God Bless

[SGT Rock]

Audie and I shared some time in '08

[Railroad King]

Stopped by during my thru in '08. He was one hell of a soldier. Rejected by the Navy and Marine Corps for being too short and skinny.

[SGT Rock]

My journal entry from '08 at the memorial: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6399

I didn't sleep well last night, for some reason I had a hard time getting to sleep. It may have been a case of PTSD from the ride up with the Dinos. I got permission to talk about it. She Dino was driving and we were coming out of the Subway parking lot in Blacksburg. The exit from that parking lot is at a traffic light, which I guess she missed totally because she drove out into the intersection with a red light - cars coming from both ways.
Anyhow, I finally got over being askeerd around midnight and fell asleep. I awoke to the sound of Boy Scouts and the herders, I mean leaders trying to get them moving. I laid in my hammock for a while enjoying the warmth and not wanting to get too caught up in all that. When I finally rolled out of my hammock it was 19F bit it was nice since it was dry and there was no wind. The Scouts, however, were freezing and got highly impressed with themselves when I told them what the snivel meter said.

They left the shelter about 10 minutes before I did, but I passed them at the shelter cut off trail where they had stopped after about 0.3 miles to take off all the sweaty snivel gear they left camp wearing. I moved on down the ridge enjoying the views from the numerous rock outcroppings, I only wish Burke's Gardens had more unobscured views like that.

I made it to Niday Shelter about lunchtime and met 3 French Canadians that are thru-hiking together. The older one spoke English and was the Terp for the crew, and apparently the other two are brothers but speak English about as well as I speak French. We introduced ourselves but then they got going as I got settled in to cook. As I finished lunch another Scout leader walked in. He had come in from VA621 and was linking up with the troop at the shelter.

I moved on down to Craig Creek and there was another Southbound thru-hiker that had gotten back on after a break Faithful is his name, he was a nice guy and seemed to be traveling well. He was at a cache of trail magic someone had left by one of the footbridges. We sat down and had some fresh apples while talking trail.

After the snack I moved on up to Audie Murphy's memorial to share in a toast of bourbon with him as a tribute to fallen comrades. It was nice to see a couple of US flags and a Texas flag flying up there and hikers have started a cairn beside the memorial marker. Now here I plan to get a little long winded, so bear with me. Since yesterday when I met up with the Scouts and talked to the leaders I told all of them they should plan to stop at the Audie Murphy Monument. Almost none of them had even heard of Audie Murphy and the ones that had couldn't remember what he was known for. The Companion even got it wrong. So, as a history lesson, I want to educate some of you. I'm doing this all out of memory without a fact check reference so please forgive any slight errors, but I guarantee that most of what I say is fact and the few errors are purely that of a tired mind.

Audie Murphy is an American Hero. His life is so extraordinary one might be led to think it was created by a writer dreaming up what he thought the proto-typical American Hero should be. But he really did exist. He was born in Kingston, TX in 1924 the second of 6 children. He was 6 when his father, a share cropper, abandoned the family during the Great Depression. At about the age of 14 (I may be off on that) his mother died, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Audie quit school to work in order to help support the family. His older sister married and as I recall was helping as well.

Audie was 17 when WWII started and wanted to enlist, but since he had no parents to sign for consent, his boss signed for them. Now at this point Audie Murphy was about 5'3" and weighed about a buck 'o five, but wanted to fight. He had become a crack shot putting rabbit meat on the table and had listened to stories of his employer who was a Marine in WWI. The Marines turned him down because he was too small, he tried to enlist to become a Paratrooper in the Army, but met the same resistance. He finally got into the Army as a standard old grunt leg infantryman.

In basic training he got sick and spent time in the infirmary they say from the inoculations, but by the time he finished Infantry training he was starting to be recognized for having something. They made him an acting sergeant for the movement of replacement troops to North Africa. When he got there he was assigned to B Co, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was only 18 years old then.

He fought with his unit in Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium, and Germany. As he went, it became apparent that this little country boy was a natural. He was small and walked sort of hunched over with an easy, fast gait that made him a hard target to hit. He made decisions with a sort of down to earth wisdom which served him and his soldiers well. Soon he was a Corporal, then a Sergeant, the a Platoon Sergeant. He earned Bronze Stars with "V" devices, a Silver Star, a Legion of Merritt, and a Service Cross as he advanced. He turned down two battlefield commissions because the policy at the time was to move soldiers that were commissioned out of their unit which he did not want to do. But finally he accepted a commission to 2nd Lieutenant when the rule was changed due to an extreme need for officers - he was only 20 years old at that point.

He served as platoon leader for the men he had been with and was respected by them. During a push into the Arden Forrest his unit was being supported by tanks when they ran into a large group of German soldiers. The tanks were destroyed and the Germans had overwhelming force, so he ordered his men to pull back to cover them. He climbed onto a burning US tank and used the Commander's machine gun to bring direct fire on the enemy while at the same time using a field radio to direct artillery against the advancing Germans at danger close ranges. He was wounded by a bullet to his hip but stayed on the tank until the Germans retreated. His action saved his unit and stalled the German offensive in that battle. His wound was the end of his career as a soldier in the war. He was sent back to the US where he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

The Companion states he was famous for capturing a large number of Germans, that was actually SGT Alvin York in the 1st WW. Audie Murphy was cited for single handedly destroying 6 tanks and killing over 240 German soldiers, and wounding or capturing many more.

When he returned to the US, he was approached by James Cagney who convinced him to get into acting. He eventually stared in "To Hell and Back" which was about his life and even played the cowardly soldier in "The Red Badge of Courage" which was controversial in that the greatest hero of WWII played a coward, but the director explained that there is a thin line between hero and a coward that he wanted to explore.

Audie Murphy was able to get into the Texas National Guard during the Korean War, but his unit was never called up for deployment. He eventually was promoted to the rank of Major before he died, so if you go to Arlington his tombstone reads MAJ Murphy.

Murphy suffered from PTSD and was one of the first of his generation to break the code of silence and discuss his issues and the effects of PTSD on Veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was also a poet, country western song writer, and a father. When he died, he left two sons and a wife - he was only 46 when he died.

Audie Murphy was not a perfect man, his first marriage didn't last (as I recall, his PTSD may have helped in that) and he sunk to B movie status soon after starting his movie star career. He got addicted to sleeping pills that were prescribed to him for his PTSD (he kicked it solo and cold turkey). But because he always dealt with things straight and (according to those who knew him) he was always humble about what he did, in my book he is an enduring sort of hero. With all the crazy stars of music, sports, movies and just plain old stupid pop-culture, it is something our generations need to remember. Folks who actually, really really had it hard and dealt with life honestly and the best they could.

I hope what I have written does honor to Audie Murphy and the men he served with (the ones he considered his heroes). I also hope that a few less hikers get to that spot on the AT clueless as to how important a spot they are on that really is. One of America's Greatest heroes and a type of man legends are made of died right there.

My war was not nearly as brutal or costly by any measure as MAJ Murphy's. I had the benefit of a good life, lots of training and experience before I got there, and an over match of equipment against my enemy, I felt like a B team amateur compared to what young Audie Murphy has endured. But it was for me a time to revisit what I think is part of the reason I came out here for. I pulled out my remainder of Woodford Reserve (Thanks to Alligator) and I proceeded to toast Audie Murphy and his friends, then to toast my fallen friends, then to reflect on those young men and women over there now. As much as some like to knock our younger generation, I saw some of the most outstanding folks I have ever met while over there. They have been baptized in blood and fire and come out steel. Compared to some more adult people these "kids" have learned and I personally have great hope and faith that these sort of people will continue to keep our nation great and strong, maybe even better than some of the older generations that knock them and put them down.

Now by this point I had drank a good deal of bourbon and was a little melancholy, then my revelry was broken by two muldoons on mopeds. These two dufusses had ridden their 50cc motorized bicycles up the AT from some FS parking area on the top of the ridge and were pretty proud of themselves. I was in no mood for dealing with them and was close to heavy buzz level. Instead of educating them, which is what I should have done, I just grabbed my pack to get down the AT.

Besides being in no mood for idiots, I was running late to link up with Don. I moved down the trail at a fairly reasonable pace, but not my best showing - a sore ankle and trail legs that were not back up to par yet kept me from moving much faster. As I got close to Trout Creek I saw Don (Hikerhead or Hokey Pokey) coming up the AT. Apparently we were both running late. He took me back to his house where I cleaned up, then we went out for food and some pool. It's nice to be around some people.

[moytoy]

Great post Sgt Rock, I may have to read your journal.
I too am a big Audie Murphy fan. Mostly because of my Dad, who was in the same war with him, had a huge respect for Murphy. My father died only four years after Murphys plain crash. RIP all of the Vets who have passed on.

[Don H]

Can't blame the scouts for not knowing who Audie Murphy was. My kids came home from school on 12/7 and I asked them if they knew what today was, they said "Friday?" Pearl Harbor? that's a movie!

[Czechtrecker]

Thanks for sharing, but, unfortunately, you're a little off on the date of Memorial Day. It's observed on the last Monday in May. This year, that date is 31 May.

Actually Hooch I said Memorial Day is just around the corner. It is the start of the archived newspaper article that starts off Memorial was last Monday. Sorry for the confusion.

[Hooch]

Actually Hooch I said Memorial Day is just around the corner. It is the start of the archived newspaper article that starts off Memorial was last Monday. Sorry for the confusion.My apology for the misunderstanding; no harm, no foul. Still, my thanks to you for sharing this article on one of America's true heroes.

[Blissful]

Thanks for sharing. Good to remember our heroes.

[Spokes]

Rest in Peace Audie.......


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Audie_Murphy_uniform_medals.jpg/200px-Audie_Murphy_uniform_medals.jpg

[GrubbyJohn]

My first section hike included Audie Murphys memorial. that was my goal for the hike.

[Tinker]

Thanks for sharing, but, unfortunately, you're a little off on the date of Memorial Day. It's observed on the last Monday in May. This year, that date is 31 May.

At first I thought so, too, but the date given is in the text of the article.

This thread is a very good tribute to a real American hero. As much as most of us hate war, we should honor those who did what they thought was right, saving the lives of their fellow soldiers, even though we may disagree on the merit of the conflict.

[clodhopper]

Great thread and great lesson SGT Rock. Perfect timing to tip our hats to those that sacrificed and those that are sacrificing.

[Tinker]

Bump for Memorial Day.

Who will be celebrating this day in a special way?

I will be fasting so every time I think of food I will remind myself that others have paid with their lives and grievous injuries so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy today.

[RevLee]

Thanks for the history, SGT Rock. The monument was on our list of goals this year. When we take our scouts to Arlington, they are always shown his grave and learn his significance.

[mrc237]

here's what I posted back in '05 about 00'

I Was Always A Little Selfish On This Day My B'day Is May 30 The Traditional Md Since Vn I've Looked At It Differently My Most Memorial Memorial Day Was In 2000 When I Camped At The Audie Murphy Memorial On My Thru Hike Of The At. My Journal Read Something Like "what A Fitting Tribute To All Veterans That I Live In A Country That I Can Take 6 Months Off From Life To Do This Trail"---------------ez

[mrc237]

Thanks Rock for your service and all other VETERANS on this upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

[Rain Man]

Thanks Rock for your service and all other VETERANS on this upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

DITTO, for sure.

Rain Man

.

[sherrill]

I always feel it's important to remember why it's a holiday, and I'm indebted to those who sacrificed so that I can enjoy it.

[Graywolf]

Awsome thread, and Thanks Rock for the article.. Did you write that?? It was evry good read and very good historical information. You should publish it.. I love reading of the Wars and frequently remember honored soldiers who fought for their country and their patriotism.

Monday, Memorial Day, I was asked to play the National Anthem at a War Memprial and looking for to it.Something for me to give back for all those who gave so much..

Graywolf

[SGT Rock]

It was in my journal.

Back in 1995 I was fortunate enough to compete for, and be selected for admittance into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. It is a professional organization for NCOs in the Army. You must compete for acceptance into the organization which includes an evaluation of the soldiers under you and recommendation by them and your chain of command. One of the soldiers you lead actually inducts you in, the whole thing is about who is not only a good NCO and soldier, but who gets that level of respect by the people they lead. I never forgot that.

When I was accepted I was member number 655, the organization had been around for about 6 years by that point, so you get the idea that out of about 700,000 soldiers, I was one of 655 then. One of the things you had to know on the last board was the story of Audie Murphy's life. For me, walking to Audie's grave, and Audie's marker on the AT were like a pilgrimage.

I'm glad that those who have read what I wrote are inspired by it.

This memorial day, I'm going to toast my fallen friends. I'm going to enjoy my family and my home. For them. Because they cannot anymore.

God bless them.

[BigFoot2002]

God bless them all. And you too, Sergeant.