| Show most thrilling exploit of war wins high honor lone yank officer repulses I 1 tank attack led by germans washington A young officer who manned a machine gun atop a blazing abandoned tank destroyer and beat back a tank led assault by germans has been awarded the nations top decoration lie he la Is first lt audio L murphy 21 of Farmers farmersville ville texas who won the congressional medal of honor near prance france last january 20 ile he was still a second lieu iley tenant and now new to the command of his company in the tha third infantry div division says the chicago tribune tho the citation accompanying the medal which was to bo be given to murphy in europe credited him with killing or wounding 50 of the germans with machine gun are and with directing artillery fire are earlier in the lighting which killed many more some of murphys Murp hya hys huddle buddies estimated that ho he accounted tor for nazis in the hour long battle swept from woods murphy was in front of his company when the two german infantry companies paced by six heavy tanks swept from a woods lie ho or dred dered lit his men to tall fall back to prepared positions while he stayed at his advance post to call for artillery are to smash the germans in tho the open ito ho was alone except lor for a tree and the tank destroyer about 10 yards to his right first lt walter W anig an artillery officer of fredonia Fre donla N D who witnessed the action said later the artillery are that murphy directed had a deadly effect 1 I saw germans disappearing in clouds of dirt and snow lie he related then a german 88 mm shell crashed into the tank destroyer and its crew balled out tailing falling back to join the remainder of the company smoke and names flames spurted from the th destroyer the german tank crews brewa swung wide around it fearing that its gasoline and ammunition would blow up with the german infantry only yards away murphy dashed over to tho the destroyer climbed into the turret and began blasting tho the nazis with its 60 50 caliber machine gun Wels called it the bravest thing ive ever seen a man do la in combat adding exposed to foon fools fire he was completely exposed to the enemy fire and there was a blaze under brider him that threatened to blow the destroyer to bits machine gun machine pistol and 88 83 shellfire was all around him twice lee the tha tank desiro destroyer was hit by direct and lieutenant was engulfed in smoke and flame ills his clothing was riddled by flying fragments of shells and bits of rocks I 1 saw that his trouser leg was soaked with blood twelve germans tried to sneak up along a ditch ditc h and flank him but he swung the machine machin e gun and killed all of them at a 50 yard range the nazi infantry was stalled without the infantry the enemy tanks tanka advance and the whole attack collapsed murphy dropped wearily oft off the destroyer all his ammunition gone and limped back to his company refusing treatment ho he reorganized his company and led it in an attack altac k that routed the germans murphy a native of Farmer eville joined the army on his birthday and fought throughout the tha african sicilian italian and french campaigns lie he has been wounded three times and wears the burp purple 11 e heart with two clusters |
