Suddenly, two 88mm shells slammed into the tank destroyer. The concussion and shock of the explosion threw Murphy violently against the turret, nearly knocking him to the ground. Lieutenant Murphy was enveloped in clouds of smoke and spurts of flame, Weispfenning recalled. Miraculously, Murphy managed to maintain his composure and continued to fire the machine gun. The only time he stopped firing was when he had to reload or relay firing instructions to artillery. Years later, displaying his characteristic dry wit, Murphy remarked: I remember getting the hell shook out of me, but that was nothing new. I also remember for the first time in three days my feet were warm.

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Amazingly, his luck continued to hold when the gray clouds broke long enough for American fighter-bombers to assemble above the raging battlefield. After hearing the glorious sound of the approaching planes, Murphy had the artillery mark the German positions with smoke shells so the pilots could start strafing. The enemy attack, although slowed, still pressed forward, however. Once again, the infantry threatened to overrun the strongpoint, now held down by a single American. In a daring move, Murphy continued to call for artillery fire, even though it was falling uncomfortably close to him by that time. I figured that I could luck it out of that barrage if the Krauts could, he said.

With the renewed barrage, the Germans finally realized that someone had them zeroed in with artillery. However, they still could not locate the source of the machine-gun fire that was cutting their ranks to pieces. A small group of Germans managed to infiltrate the woods as far back as the 1st Battalion headquarters, but the majority of the enemy infantry began to fall back toward Holtzwihr. Without the protection and support of the foot soldiers, the German armor wisely left the field. I can understand why the Kraut infantry missed me, deadpanned Murphy. But I can never forgive the German tank men for their poor marksmanship. It was real sloppy.

Just as the Germans began to fall back, Murphy’s field telephone went dead. Exhausted and bleeding profusely, Murphy climbed off the burning tank destroyer and limped back into the forest. I turned from the Germans and never looked back, he recalled. I was too weak from fear and exhaustion to care anymore. Shortly after reaching the woods, Murphy heard the tank destroyer blow up, blasting off the turret on which he had been standing.

Although steel and rock fragments riddled the field map that he had carried during the battle, Murphy had been incredibly lucky. His trousers were soaked with blood from an old wound, suffered the previous October, that had been reopened in the course of his frenzied ordeal. Murph was a daredevil; he took chances that others just wouldn’t take, recalled Brad Croeker, a Company B private. He was too daring for most of us. His middle name was lucky. Bill Weinberg added: I think he was just willing to stick his neck out. But it was a matter of being careful, too. He took more chances than others, but he did it in a calculated way.

When Murphy got back to his company, he helped organize a counterattack. In sworn testimony, Sergeant Brawley stated: Lieutenant Murphy, refusing to be evacuated, led us in a strong attack against the enemy, dislodging the Germans from the whole area. Murphy continued advancing until the men of Company B had reoccupied their original positions.

Frozen and exhausted, the GIs spent the rest of the afternoon holding their ground. That night we lay among our dead comrades who fell that afternoon, Murphy said. Croeker recalled: We were right beside the Colmar Canal. After that bloody day was over, we went down to the canal to get a drink….The bodies were so thick, you had to push them aside to get a drink of water.

Strengthened by replacements, the 3rd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, captured Holtzwihr on January 27. The Germans, disheartened by their lack of progress against the Americans, pulled most of their men and materiel out of the area. Except for small pockets of enemy resistance, the areas east of the Ill River and north of the Colmar Canal were clear of enemy forces by January 28.

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