26JAN1945: His unit's strength dropping from 235 to 18, 2LT Audie Murfphy found himself the only officer in Bravo Company, 1-15IN as a German counterattack unfolded near Holtzwihr, France. 2LT Murphy, having been wounded in both legs a few days prior, took command of the company and set in for the defense. As the enemy tanks approached his position, a US tank destroyer was hit and set ablaze, forcing the crew to evacuate. Ordering his men to fall back to the cover of a wood line, 2LT Murphy began his defense of the position. Alternating between firing his rifle at the advancing infantry and calling in artillery strikes, the German attackers zeroed in on Murphy's position. Facing the full brunt of the German attack, 2LT Murphy made his way atop the tank destroyer where he manned the .50 caliber machine gun and continued his one man defense of the American position. For nearly an hour, 2LT Murphy manned the machine gun, fully exposed to enemy fire, and repelled the attacking German forces only stopping when he ran completely out of ammunition having killed upwards of 50 enemy fighers by himself. Wounded again in his leg, 2LT Murphy rejoined his men and led them on a successful counterattack that pushed the Germans out of the immediate area. For his brave and selfless actions that day, 2LT Audie Murphy would be awarded the Medal of Honor. The medal would add to his collection of a Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, a Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and three Purple Hearts, a record that would make him the most decorated American Soldier of WWII. Audie Murphy would survive the war and go on to have a successful movie career before he tragically died in a plane crash in 1971 at the age of 45.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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