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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was established to recognize gallant and intrepid service by a member of the state or federal military fores, and Audie Murphy, the most highly decorated soldier of World War II, would be a fitting recipient of this prestigious award; and

WHEREAS, Born in Kingston, Hunt County, on June 20, 1925, Audie Leon Murphy was one of 12 children; he received several years of formal education before leaving school to help support his family; in addition to working a variety of jobs, he hunted small game for food and became a crack shot; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy tried to enlist in the armed forces after the attack on Pearl Harbor but was rejected because he was underage; later, when he claimed to be a year older than he actually was, the marines and paratroopers turned him down on the grounds that he was too short and thin; finally, in June 1942, still misrepresenting his date of birth, he managed to join the army infantry; determined to become a combat soldier, he successfully resisted the effort of his company commander to have him transferred to a cook and bakers school; and

WHEREAS, In early 1943, Private Murphy shipped overseas to Morocco as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; while stationed in North Africa, he participated in extensive training maneuvers; he saw his first combat in July 1943, when the 3rd Division invaded Sicily, and he subsequently took part in the landing at Salerno, the Volturno River Campaign, the landing at Anzio, and the march on Rome; during those months in Italy, Audie Murphy demonstrated both exceptional skill as a marksman and a sound grasp of small-unit tactics; his proficiency as a soldier earned him repeated promotions and several decorations for valor; and

WHEREAS, On the morning of August 15, 1944, Staff Sergeant Murphy landed with the 3rd Division in southern France; that same day, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross, this nation 's second-highest award for heroism, for his actions in single-handedly destroying a German machine gun crew and several other enemy positions, feats that made possible the capture of a fiercely contested hill; the following October 2 and October 5, he earned Silver Stars for further heroic action; and

WHEREAS, That fall, Audie Murphy received a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant; soon afterward, he sustained a wound that removed him from action for the next 10 weeks; though not completely healed, he returned to his unit early the next year, and on January 25, 1945, he became company commander; and

WHEREAS, At that time, Lieutenant Murphy 's men were engaged in the effort to clear German soldiers from an area in eastern France known as the Colmar Pocket; on January 26, in bitter cold and with several feet of snow covering the ground, Company B came under attack by six German tanks and 250 German infantrymen; Lieutenant Murphy ordered his troops, whose effective strength had been reduced by about 40 percent, to fall back; he remained forward and continued to direct Allied artillery fire by telephone; when the German tanks drew abreast of his position, he mounted a burning tank destroyer and, though exposed to fire on three sides, employed its machine gun against the enemy, causing the German infantry to waver and the tanks to fall back; he continued to hold his ground in the firefight for an hour, wiping out a German squad that had reached within 10 yards of his position; when his ammunition was exhausted, he made his way back to his company, refused medical treatment for a leg wound, and led his men in a successful counterattack, enabling his unit to save the woods that had been the Germans' objective; Lieutenant Murphy was credited with personally killing or wounding about 50 enemy combatants in that encounter, and his exceptional bravery earned him the Medal of Honor; and

WHEREAS, The following month, Audie Murphy was withdrawn from the front lines, promoted to first lieutenant, and made a liaison officer; he returned to the States in mid-June 1945, having earned 28 medals, including several from France and Belgium; he was not yet 21; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Murphy received his discharge from the army in September 1945; he joined the Texas National Guard in 1950, after the outbreak of the Korean War, and eventually attained the rank of major; assigned to inactive status in 1957, he transferred to the United States Army Reserve in 1966 and continued as a member of the reserve until his death in 1971; and

WHEREAS, Though his extraordinary record in the war brought him widespread fame, Audie Murphy remained profoundly humble, highlighting his comrades ' courage, rather than his own, in his autobiography and requesting a plain government headstone for his grave, instead of one adorned with the gold gilt that typically signifies a Medal of Honor recipient; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy repeatedly risked his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers and to help advance their mission, and for his remarkable heroism he is most assuredly deserving of this state's supreme military award; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas, 2nd Called Session, hereby direct the governor of the State of Texas to award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor posthumously to Audie Murphy in recognition of his valiant actions in World War II.