On 26 January 1945, near the village of Holzwell in eastern France, The positions of Second Lieutenant Audi Murphy and his troops were under heavy german attack. There were 6 German tanks and 250 infantry attacking them. Since the original fortifications were not conducive to defense and partially collapsed, Murphy ordered his men to retreat first and strengthen the fortifications at the second trench. He jumped alone into an abandoned burning tank destroyer and wielded a machine gun from the top to counter the enemy's attack.
Murphy was wounded in the leg during the fierce firefight, but he held out for nearly an hour, repelling the attack of German soldiers attacking from three sides and killing 50 of them. His heroic performance slowed the German advance and was able to lead his men in a counterattack after reinforcements arrived, eventually driving the enemy out of Holzwell. For this, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. reward for heroic acts in combat.
By the end of World War II, Murphy had become one of the most decorated soldiers in the United States, receiving an unrivalled 28 medals (three from France and one from Belgium). Murphy was wounded three times in the war. Murphy joined the army at the age of 16, so he was not yet 21 when Europe declared victory in May 1945.
It is still impossible to understand why the six German tanks failed to destroy the destroyer in which Murphy was located, or why the rifle shots of so many German soldiers failed to hit him.
Murphy had a hard childhood. He was the sixth of 12 children in the family, and his father ran away from home when they were all young. Murphy's accurate shooting did not come from military training, but from an early age, he had to hunt to get food for his family.
After returning to the United States, because of his baby face, he was invited to appear in the film "To Hell and Back", which is based on his deeds, as well as several other Western cowboy films. But Murphy suffered from war trauma syndrome for a long time, sleeping with a loaded rifle every night, and at the same time he fell into the aftermath of alcoholism and gambling, and lost all his savings.
Murphy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after his death.
