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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established |
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to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state |
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or federal military forces, and Audie Murphy, the most highly |
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decorated American soldier of World War II, would be a fitting |
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recipient of this prestigious award; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Kingston, Hunt County, on June 20, 1925, |
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Audie Leon Murphy was one of 12 children; he received several years |
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of formal education before leaving school to help support his |
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family; in addition to working a variety of jobs, he hunted small |
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game for food and became a crack shot; and |
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WHEREAS, Audie Murphy tried to enlist in the armed forces |
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after the attack on Pearl Harbor but was rejected because he was |
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underage; later, when he claimed to be a year older than he actually |
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was, the marines and paratroopers turned him down on the grounds |
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that he was too short and thin; finally, in June 1942, still |
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misrepresenting his date of birth, he managed to join the army |
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infantry; determined to become a combat soldier, he successfully |
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resisted the effort of his company commander to have him |
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transferred to a cook and bakers school; and |
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WHEREAS, In early 1943, Private Murphy shipped overseas to |
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Morocco as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry |
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Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; while stationed in North Africa, |
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he participated in extensive training maneuvers; he saw his first |
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combat in July 1943, when the 3rd Division invaded Sicily, and he |
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subsequently took part in the landing at Salerno, the Volturno |
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River Campaign, the landing at Anzio, and the march on Rome; during |
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those months in Italy, Audie Murphy demonstrated both exceptional |
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skill as a marksman and a sound grasp of small-unit tactics; his |
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proficiency as a soldier earned him repeated promotions and several |
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decorations for valor; and |
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WHEREAS, On the morning of August 15, 1944, Staff Sergeant |
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Murphy landed with the 3rd Division in southern France; that same |
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day, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross, this nation's |
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second-highest award for heroism, for his actions in |
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single-handedly destroying a German machine gun crew and several |
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other enemy positions, feats that made possible the capture of a |
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fiercely contested hill; the following October 2 and October 5, he |
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earned Silver Stars for further heroic action; and |
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WHEREAS, That fall, Audie Murphy received a battlefield |
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commission as a second lieutenant; soon afterward, he sustained a |
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wound that removed him from action for the next 10 weeks; though not |
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completely healed, he returned to his unit early the next year, and |
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on January 25, 1945, he became company commander; and |
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WHEREAS, At that time, Lieutenant Murphy's men were engaged |
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in the effort to clear German soldiers from an area in eastern |
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France known as the Colmar Pocket; on January 26, in bitter cold and |
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with several feet of snow covering the ground, Company B came under |
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attack by six German tanks and 250 German infantrymen; Lieutenant |
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Murphy ordered his troops, whose effective strength had been |
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reduced by about 40 percent, to fall back; he remained forward and |
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continued to direct Allied artillery fire by telephone; when the |
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German tanks drew abreast of his position, he mounted a burning tank |
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destroyer and, though exposed to fire on three sides, employed its |
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machine gun against the enemy, causing the German infantry to waver |
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and the tanks to fall back; he continued to hold his ground in the |
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firefight for an hour, wiping out a German squad that had reached |
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within 10 yards of his position; when his ammunition was exhausted, |
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he made his way back to his company, refused medical treatment for a |
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leg wound, and led his men in a successful counterattack, enabling |
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his unit to save the woods that had been the Germans' objective; |
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Lieutenant Murphy was credited with personally killing or wounding |
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about 50 enemy combatants in that encounter, and his exceptional |
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bravery earned him the Medal of Honor; and |
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WHEREAS, The following month, Audie Murphy was withdrawn from |
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the front lines, promoted to first lieutenant, and made a liaison |
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officer; he returned to the States in mid-June 1945, having earned |
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28 medals, including several from France and Belgium; he was not yet |
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21; and |
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WHEREAS, Lieutenant Murphy received his discharge from the |
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army in September 1945; he joined the Texas National Guard in 1950, |
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after the outbreak of the Korean War, and eventually attained the |
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rank of major; assigned to inactive status in 1957, he transferred |
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to the United States Army Reserve in 1966 and continued as a member |
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of the reserve until his death in 1971; and |
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WHEREAS, Though his extraordinary record in the war brought |
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him widespread fame, Audie Murphy remained profoundly humble, |
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highlighting his comrades' courage, rather than his own, in his |
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autobiography and requesting a plain government headstone for his |
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grave, instead of one adorned with the gold gilt that typically |
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signifies a Medal of Honor recipient; and |
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WHEREAS, Audie Murphy repeatedly risked his life to save the |
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lives of his fellow soldiers and to help advance their mission, and |
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for his remarkable heroism he is most assuredly deserving of this |
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state's supreme military award; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to award the Texas |
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Legislative Medal of Honor posthumously to Audie Leon Murphy in |
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recognition of his valiant actions in World War II. |