74 Years Ago Today, Audie Murphy Earned His Medal Of Honor With Nothing But A Burning Tank Destroyer's .50 Cal And Insane Bravery
Reminder Anons: lead by example. Be courageous, selfless. Never give up.
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.