On June 2, 1945, Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, commanding general of the Seventh Army, presented Lieutenant Murphy with the Medal of Honor. The official citation reads in part: For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his position….His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy’s indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods, which had been the enemy’s objective.

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Charles Owen recalled years later: He saved our lives. If he hadn’t done what he did, the Germans would have annihilated us. We were already beat down pretty bad and about out of ammunition.

For Murphy, the Medal of Honor was the crowning achievement of an illustrious combat career. By the end of the war, he had received every medal for valor that his country had to offer, including two Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts and the Legion of Merit–making him the most decorated American soldier during World War II.

After the war, Murphy returned to Texas, but the reluctant hero was invited to Hollywood in September 1945 by actor James Cagney, who had seen his photo on the cover of Life magazine. Murphy made more than 40 films, including To Hell and Back, The Red Badge of Courage and many Westerns. On May 28, 1971, a private plane crashed outside Roanoke, Va., killing the five people aboard, including passenger Murphy, 46.

This article was written by Daniel R. Champagne and originally appeared in the May 2002 issue of World War II.

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