The Art of Manliness - The Humble Heroics of Four of WWII's Most Decorated Soldiers

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00:00:30.000 Brett McKay here, and welcome to another edition

00:00:32.080 of the Art of Manliness podcast.

00:00:34.040 The Medal of Honor is the military's highest

00:00:35.780 and most prestigious decoration

00:00:37.140 and is awarded to a member of the United States Armed Forces

00:00:39.640 who distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry

00:00:42.140 and intrepidity at the risk of his life

00:00:44.100 above and beyond the call of duty.

00:00:46.060 During World War II, no U.S. unit would produce

00:00:48.200 more Medal of Honor recipients

00:00:49.340 than the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

00:00:51.380 And my guest, Alex Kershaw, profiles four of these recipients,

00:00:54.660 Morris Britt, Michael Daly, Keith Ware,

00:00:56.840 and the famous Audie Murphy.

00:00:58.400 In his new book, Against All Odds,

00:01:00.080 a true story of ultimate courage and survival in World War II.

00:01:02.920 Today on the show, Alex explains how the prodigiousness

00:01:04.980 of the 3rd Infantry Division

00:01:06.160 was due to effective leadership

00:01:07.520 and the sheer fact they were in combat so long,

00:01:10.120 serving from the very beginning of the war in Europe

00:01:11.680 to its very end.

00:01:12.680 We then get into the stories of Britt, Daly, Ware, and Murphy,

00:01:15.480 unpacking their varied backgrounds,

00:01:17.040 how they earned their Medals of Honor,

00:01:18.380 and many more decorations besides,

00:01:19.980 and what their lives were like after the war.

00:01:21.760 We end our conversation with what Alex has personally taken away

00:01:24.040 from the stories of these brave men.

00:01:25.560 After the show's over, check out our show notes

00:01:27.240 at aom.is slash againstallodds.

00:01:30.000 All right.

00:01:41.760 Alex Kershaw, welcome back to the show.

00:01:44.340 Great to be with you.

00:01:45.220 So you got a new book out about World War II,

00:01:47.640 Against All Odds,

00:01:49.000 a true story of ultimate courage and survival in World War II.

00:01:52.500 And in this book, you take a deep dive into the war experience

00:01:56.520 of four Medal of Honor recipients.

00:01:58.980 We got Maurice Britt, Michael Daly, Keith Ware,

00:02:02.780 and then the famous Audie Murphy.

00:02:05.080 What led you to these men's stories?

00:02:08.220 I became fascinated by Medal of Honor recipients in World War II,

00:02:12.540 and I actually went and met the, at the time,

00:02:15.900 this was like three years ago,

00:02:17.120 he was the oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor

00:02:21.020 from World War II, a guy called Bob Maxwell,

00:02:23.340 who lived out in Oregon.

00:02:25.780 And actually, at the time, when I saw him,

00:02:27.680 there were five living recipients from World War II,

00:02:30.400 and there's now just one.

00:02:31.460 And I interviewed all but one of those five

00:02:34.500 because their stories are amazing.

00:02:36.000 And I just thought, hey, while these guys are still alive,

00:02:38.640 I'm going to try and interview each one I can.

00:02:41.300 But Bob Maxwell was amazing,

00:02:42.280 and he belonged to the 3rd ID, 3rd Infantry Division,

00:02:45.600 and he told me not only about how he'd received the medal,

00:02:49.460 but also about his amazing division.

00:02:51.400 And I learned a very important fact,

00:02:53.880 which was that the 3rd Infantry Division

00:02:56.020 received more medals of honor

00:02:57.820 than any other U.S. division in World War II.

00:03:01.660 And I thought to myself, what's going on here?

00:03:03.420 And by more, I mean far more.

00:03:06.180 So the 3rd ID was one of 90 divisions in Europe

00:03:09.300 at the end of the war, 90-odd divisions.

00:03:11.220 And if you compare the 3rd ID they had,

00:03:14.380 today they officially have 40 medal of honor recipients

00:03:16.740 from World War II,

00:03:18.080 and the 101st Airborne have two.

00:03:20.860 So the Glamour Boys, you know, Band of Brothers guys,

00:03:23.280 the guys that won the war single-handedly,

00:03:25.960 they had two,

00:03:26.880 but the 3rd ID that most people have never heard of

00:03:29.420 had 20 times more.

00:03:31.500 So I was like, what the heck's going on here?

00:03:34.300 And it was just a very interesting question,

00:03:37.080 and I discovered that they had,

00:03:40.120 the reason why they had so many medals

00:03:41.320 is because they'd fought longest and lost more men.

00:03:44.860 They started at the very beginning of the European campaign

00:03:48.080 and were there right at the end.

00:03:50.120 So they had a hell of a lot more opportunities

00:03:52.700 than some U.S. divisions to earn medals.

00:03:56.360 Well, so let's talk about their history,

00:03:58.060 because throughout the book,

00:03:59.740 you often refer to them as the Marn men.

00:04:02.540 Why did the 3rd Infantry Division guys,

00:04:04.900 why did they refer themselves as Marn men?

00:04:07.260 That's from World War I,

00:04:08.720 when that division was credited with stopping

00:04:12.200 a very brutal German advance,

00:04:15.740 actually stopping the Germans from reaching Paris,

00:04:18.620 and the 3rd Infantry Division

00:04:20.220 made a very valiant stand along the banks of the Marn River,

00:04:25.120 and forevermore has been known as the Marn division.

00:04:29.040 The Marn men are the 3rd ID soldiers to this very day.

00:04:33.160 Let's talk about,

00:04:33.620 so you mentioned that the reason why

00:04:35.420 there were so many Medal of Honor winners

00:04:37.460 from the 3rd Division is that they were there from the start.

00:04:41.100 So let's talk about, like,

00:04:42.280 I mean, kind of give us a big picture overview.

00:04:44.460 What was their first mission,

00:04:46.120 and then how did it progress,

00:04:47.460 and how long were they out in the battlefield

00:04:49.320 when it was all said and done during World War II?

00:04:51.900 Well, it was an epic journey.

00:04:53.040 I think officially 335 days of actual combat.

00:04:59.040 And it lasted from November 1942 with Operation Torch

00:05:02.420 when the 3rd ID came in North Africa,

00:05:05.300 not far from Casablanca.

00:05:07.320 And then they fought through Sicily.

00:05:09.860 That was the second amphibious invasion.

00:05:12.280 And then they invaded Italy.

00:05:14.460 Southern Italy, that was their third amphibious invasion.

00:05:17.620 They fought all the way up the bloody spine of Italy

00:05:20.000 in the fall of 1943.

00:05:22.840 We're in their fourth amphibious invasion at Anzio,

00:05:26.220 which is January 1944.

00:05:28.480 In May of 1944, when the 3rd ID tried to break out

00:05:32.340 of the Iron Ring, the German Iron Ring

00:05:35.420 that surrounded them at Anzio,

00:05:37.060 they lost on one single day in May of 1944.

00:05:40.600 They lost, I think it's 932 men.

00:05:44.720 You'll have to fact-check me,

00:05:45.740 but that's the largest single loss of men

00:05:48.140 from any one American division in World War II

00:05:51.460 on one day.

00:05:52.460 So that's like a huge amount of men to lose

00:05:54.440 from in just one day of action.

00:05:56.420 Anyway, that was their fourth,

00:05:58.040 Anzio was their fourth amphibious operation.

00:05:59.760 And then their fifth and final invasion

00:06:02.000 was the south of France in August of 1944.

00:06:05.260 And the 3rd ID were therefore involved

00:06:09.360 in more amphibious invasions

00:06:11.360 than any other American division

00:06:13.280 in the European theatre.

00:06:14.620 And then they fought all the way up through France

00:06:16.200 to the German border,

00:06:17.840 very fierce fighting in what was called

00:06:19.600 the Colmar Pocket.

00:06:21.080 And then they fought all the way across the Rhine

00:06:23.180 and then ended up in Nuremberg in April 1945

00:06:26.040 and had the great honour of being

00:06:29.000 the US soldiers that liberated Berchtesgaden,

00:06:33.100 which was Adolf Hitler's alpine lair.

00:06:36.860 So if you watch Band of Brothers,

00:06:38.200 you know, the last couple of episodes,

00:06:39.180 you see these screaming eagles

00:06:41.440 drinking at Berchtesgaden.

00:06:44.040 Well, in fact, the first guys there

00:06:46.340 were the 3rd ID guys

00:06:48.400 and they wanted to be there

00:06:49.260 for a very good reason,

00:06:50.280 the very important reason,

00:06:51.300 which was that they'd been there

00:06:53.020 at the very beginning

00:06:53.740 and they wanted to be there

00:06:54.740 at the very end

00:06:55.540 at the symbolic end

00:06:56.500 at Hitler's mountain retreat.

00:06:59.580 And they were.

00:07:00.640 No, it's what I love about this book,

00:07:02.040 because oftentimes when we watch movies

00:07:03.500 or read books about infantry

00:07:05.140 during World War II,

00:07:06.220 it's typically like,

00:07:07.140 it's D-Day stuff,

00:07:08.000 which is, you've written about that,

00:07:09.160 an amazing thing.

00:07:10.360 Sometimes it gets the Italian

00:07:11.840 and the African campaigns

00:07:13.360 get overlooked,

00:07:14.660 but like that was,

00:07:15.540 that's how the whole thing started

00:07:16.760 with the Americans,

00:07:18.140 you know, working with the British

00:07:19.300 and working their way through,

00:07:20.800 you know, North Africa, Italy,

00:07:22.500 into France.

00:07:23.900 Yeah, no, I mean,

00:07:24.880 people think that,

00:07:25.540 that the European campaign

00:07:27.080 began on June the 6th, 1944,

00:07:29.100 with D-Day.

00:07:30.200 European theatre included North Africa,

00:07:32.400 so troops sent over in,

00:07:34.280 you know,

00:07:34.500 to invade North Africa

00:07:36.060 in November 1942.

00:07:37.460 They were,

00:07:38.000 strictly speaking,

00:07:38.860 they were within the European theatre,

00:07:40.440 that was the European theatre operation.

00:07:41.820 So, November 1942,

00:07:44.920 you go,

00:07:46.040 think about all the long,

00:07:47.780 bloody months,

00:07:48.420 you go from 1942,

00:07:49.940 November 1942,

00:07:50.820 all the way to June 1944.

00:07:52.500 That's a hell of a long time,

00:07:54.040 and Americans were in

00:07:55.160 very fierce combat,

00:07:57.460 long before June the 6th, 1944.

00:07:59.920 I mean,

00:08:00.200 the third ID alone

00:08:02.020 had been involved

00:08:02.760 in four amphibious invasions.

00:08:04.220 The first time that Americans

00:08:05.700 started to kill and die

00:08:07.580 to liberate Europe

00:08:09.100 was actually

00:08:09.800 the 10th of July 1943

00:08:11.580 in Sicily,

00:08:13.100 and that's almost a year

00:08:14.660 before you had

00:08:16.080 the D-Day invasion.

00:08:17.080 So,

00:08:17.560 people often forget

00:08:18.420 that there was a hell of a lot

00:08:19.380 of fighting,

00:08:20.500 very important fighting

00:08:21.560 that went on

00:08:22.200 in the European theatre,

00:08:23.780 long before D-Day,

00:08:25.280 the one and only,

00:08:26.320 apparently,

00:08:26.760 D-Day of June the 6th, 1944.

00:08:28.920 No,

00:08:29.160 there were lots of D-Days

00:08:30.180 throughout.

00:08:30.700 Yeah,

00:08:31.100 and there's a lot of D-Days

00:08:32.240 in the Pacific.

00:08:32.960 I mean,

00:08:33.260 it's really funny

00:08:34.080 because when I wrote my book

00:08:36.020 The Bedford Boys

00:08:36.900 back in,

00:08:38.140 wow,

00:08:38.500 I'm making myself

00:08:39.600 sound really old

00:08:40.900 because I am.

00:08:41.980 Back in 2003,

00:08:43.340 I went to a veteran's home

00:08:44.780 and this geezer,

00:08:45.760 this guy at the back,

00:08:46.720 stood up at the back

00:08:47.440 of the room

00:08:47.800 and he was a Pacific veteran

00:08:48.980 and he said,

00:08:50.000 you know,

00:08:50.400 what are you going on

00:08:51.780 about all these guys

00:08:52.840 on D-Day?

00:08:53.700 I was in so many

00:08:55.700 D-Days in the Pacific,

00:08:57.180 I can't remember.

00:08:58.380 So,

00:08:59.020 yeah,

00:08:59.380 the Pacific was all

00:09:00.480 about D-Days,

00:09:02.260 island hopping,

00:09:03.140 et cetera.

00:09:03.940 And you have to remember

00:09:04.500 that the word D-Day,

00:09:06.060 D stands for

00:09:07.220 a day of operation,

00:09:08.220 an important day

00:09:08.820 of operation.

00:09:09.600 So,

00:09:10.460 you know,

00:09:11.020 it was just a code term

00:09:11.980 for a day of invasion

00:09:14.280 and there were many,

00:09:15.060 many in World War II.

00:09:16.720 One thing that impressed me

00:09:17.680 about the 3rd Division

00:09:18.960 was how hard

00:09:20.300 they were driven.

00:09:20.880 Like,

00:09:21.000 they were booking it.

00:09:22.980 Like,

00:09:23.120 they make it to Italy,

00:09:24.980 but like,

00:09:25.280 they were covering

00:09:25.980 30,

00:09:26.600 40 miles a day

00:09:27.540 fully rucked.

00:09:28.560 Yeah,

00:09:29.480 they had a really

00:09:30.700 fantastic

00:09:31.380 Division commander,

00:09:32.580 a guy called

00:09:32.940 Lucian Truscott.

00:09:34.920 And,

00:09:35.340 you know,

00:09:35.580 he was a hard,

00:09:36.360 hard-living,

00:09:37.620 hard-drinking,

00:09:38.920 chain-smoking guy

00:09:39.900 who,

00:09:40.520 when he arrived

00:09:41.080 in Europe,

00:09:42.440 had a copy of

00:09:43.220 War and Peace

00:09:43.800 in his kit bag.

00:09:45.460 Really tough,

00:09:46.600 tough guy.

00:09:48.000 Loved his men,

00:09:48.900 loved his division,

00:09:49.800 kind of pattern-esque figure.

00:09:51.340 You know,

00:09:51.500 he wore a leather

00:09:52.180 flying jacket,

00:09:53.700 which he didn't see

00:09:54.520 many U.S.

00:09:55.900 Division commanders

00:09:56.580 wearing.

00:09:57.300 And he developed

00:09:58.660 a training system

00:09:59.560 before the invasion

00:10:01.200 of Sicily

00:10:01.760 in July 1943.

00:10:03.920 He wanted his guys

00:10:04.620 to be almost like

00:10:05.660 cavalry,

00:10:06.240 so they wanted them

00:10:06.760 to be able to move

00:10:07.520 really fast on foot,

00:10:09.580 to pivot and swerve,

00:10:11.300 and to be very

00:10:12.560 highly mobile.

00:10:13.640 But that required

00:10:14.400 them to be

00:10:14.940 incredibly fit.

00:10:16.360 And he developed

00:10:17.400 a training program

00:10:18.540 whereby they had

00:10:19.120 to perform

00:10:19.620 what was called

00:10:20.860 the Truscott trot.

00:10:22.580 And that was

00:10:23.120 basically,

00:10:24.380 you know,

00:10:24.680 you're not walking

00:10:25.560 at speed,

00:10:26.120 you're almost jogging,

00:10:27.280 and they were doing

00:10:27.940 at least three miles

00:10:28.840 an hour.

00:10:30.220 And in,

00:10:31.920 over several days

00:10:32.920 in Sicily,

00:10:34.540 the third ID

00:10:35.180 performed the Truscott trot

00:10:36.560 and covered

00:10:37.120 record distances

00:10:38.100 in record time

00:10:39.760 in World War II.

00:10:41.120 I mean,

00:10:41.320 they covered

00:10:41.680 like 100 miles

00:10:42.540 in,

00:10:42.960 you know,

00:10:43.940 two or three days

00:10:44.800 on what was basically

00:10:46.360 a forced march.

00:10:47.220 But they weren't,

00:10:47.840 they weren't marching,

00:10:48.780 they were basically trotting.

00:10:50.200 So they were famous

00:10:51.040 for that, yeah.

00:10:52.020 Did Patton play a role

00:10:53.340 with the third division?

00:10:54.040 Patton was

00:10:55.820 a third army commander,

00:10:57.080 so he wasn't

00:10:58.140 the army commander

00:10:59.040 for the third ID.

00:11:01.180 That was a guy

00:11:01.780 called Alexander Patch.

00:11:03.540 Patton didn't have

00:11:04.580 any control

00:11:05.160 throughout the war

00:11:05.860 over the third ID

00:11:06.820 because he was

00:11:07.500 a different army commander.

00:11:08.500 But it's interesting

00:11:09.500 that you mention Patton

00:11:10.500 because the guy

00:11:12.360 that often gets overlooked

00:11:13.500 in World War II

00:11:14.280 who was a very capable

00:11:15.660 army commander

00:11:16.340 is,

00:11:17.660 as I mentioned,

00:11:18.280 Alexander Patch

00:11:19.020 who was the

00:11:20.580 seventh army commander

00:11:21.500 and commanded

00:11:22.260 the third division

00:11:23.140 and the fourth,

00:11:24.680 fifth infantry division

00:11:25.780 and the 36th infantry division

00:11:28.460 and others

00:11:29.620 throughout the campaign

00:11:31.540 to liberate France

00:11:32.860 and then Germany.

00:11:35.160 And sadly,

00:11:36.580 I write about Patch

00:11:37.480 quite a bit in my books.

00:11:38.380 I think he was

00:11:38.780 a superb commander,

00:11:40.020 very understated,

00:11:41.660 not a publicity hound

00:11:43.220 in the way

00:11:43.880 that Patton was

00:11:44.720 at all.

00:11:45.960 And tragically,

00:11:47.140 he lost,

00:11:47.660 he had only one child

00:11:48.680 as a son

00:11:49.940 and he lost his son

00:11:50.940 in October of 1944.

00:11:53.820 So he had a guy

00:11:54.440 that's in,

00:11:55.560 you know,

00:11:55.780 Patch is a guy

00:11:56.580 that's in command

00:11:57.200 of at least 250,000 men

00:11:59.060 and he's doing that,

00:12:01.080 you know,

00:12:01.540 barely sleeping

00:12:02.380 under crushing stress

00:12:04.260 day after day

00:12:05.060 trying to get this war won

00:12:06.940 and he discovers

00:12:08.400 that his own son

00:12:09.120 has been killed

00:12:09.740 and I quote

00:12:11.320 some of the letters

00:12:12.740 that he sent

00:12:13.180 to his wife

00:12:13.660 which are really

00:12:14.920 heartbreaking,

00:12:15.460 you know,

00:12:15.880 to lose your only son

00:12:17.240 is a big deal.

00:12:20.080 So let's talk about,

00:12:21.260 so these guys were

00:12:22.020 from the beginning,

00:12:22.780 1942,

00:12:23.580 they were fighting

00:12:24.720 all the way

00:12:25.800 through 1944.

00:12:27.640 So let's talk about

00:12:28.380 some of these men

00:12:28.780 you highlight.

00:12:29.200 The first one

00:12:29.880 is this guy

00:12:30.520 named Maurice

00:12:31.200 Footsie Britt.

00:12:32.660 What was Britt

00:12:33.480 like before the war

00:12:34.320 and then how did he

00:12:35.060 end up in the

00:12:35.700 3rd Infantry Division?

00:12:37.860 He grew up

00:12:38.780 in rural Arkansas

00:12:40.200 and his dad died

00:12:42.120 when he was,

00:12:42.780 I think,

00:12:42.980 14 years old.

00:12:44.040 He had to work

00:12:44.640 very,

00:12:44.920 very hard

00:12:45.420 to put himself

00:12:45.980 through high school.

00:12:47.700 He was a brilliant

00:12:48.200 athlete at high school,

00:12:49.920 particularly baseball

00:12:51.360 and football

00:12:51.860 and then got a scholarship

00:12:53.360 to the University

00:12:55.020 of Arkansas

00:12:55.580 where he played

00:12:56.520 for the Razorbacks

00:12:57.940 and was such

00:12:59.920 a good player

00:13:00.380 that he was recruited

00:13:01.320 by the Detroit Lions.

00:13:02.660 So I think he had

00:13:03.440 one full season

00:13:05.260 with the Lions

00:13:05.920 before he was called up

00:13:08.900 and called into

00:13:10.100 the 3rd Infantry Division.

00:13:11.400 And I was going to say

00:13:12.800 he played with

00:13:13.480 Byron White.

00:13:14.480 That's kind of

00:13:14.880 the Supreme Court justice.

00:13:16.980 Yeah,

00:13:17.280 the future Supreme Court justice.

00:13:19.160 And I think

00:13:20.520 the New England guy

00:13:21.800 Belichick,

00:13:22.460 his father

00:13:23.040 played with him

00:13:24.420 at the Detroit Lions.

00:13:25.180 You'd have to check that.

00:13:26.080 But yeah,

00:13:26.800 but a future Supreme Court justice

00:13:28.420 was on the same team

00:13:30.440 as Morris

00:13:32.000 Footsie Britt.

00:13:32.920 He was nicknamed

00:13:33.640 Footsie Britt

00:13:34.280 because he had

00:13:34.960 such large feet.

00:13:35.820 But yeah,

00:13:36.640 he was a handsome guy,

00:13:38.120 you know,

00:13:38.600 tough,

00:13:39.160 very athletic,

00:13:39.960 very fit,

00:13:40.480 obviously.

00:13:41.020 And he first saw

00:13:42.560 combat in Italy

00:13:44.680 as a company commander.

00:13:46.680 He started his

00:13:47.460 ordeal in Italy

00:13:49.800 in September of 1943

00:13:51.800 and received

00:13:52.620 the Medal of Honor

00:13:53.200 for actions

00:13:53.760 in November of 1943

00:13:55.800 at Mount Rotundo

00:13:56.980 where he was described

00:13:58.500 as performing

00:13:59.160 like a one-man army

00:14:00.260 through countless grenades

00:14:02.080 and fended off

00:14:03.540 a German attack

00:14:04.300 and was just

00:14:05.680 was extraordinary.

00:14:06.940 I mean,

00:14:07.160 it's just superhuman

00:14:08.640 courage

00:14:09.560 and resilience

00:14:11.180 in a way,

00:14:12.240 you know?

00:14:12.660 Yeah,

00:14:12.840 so he not only earned

00:14:13.520 the Medal of Honor,

00:14:14.120 we'll talk about,

00:14:14.660 you know,

00:14:14.780 kind of his actions there,

00:14:15.600 but he was one of the most

00:14:16.600 decorated soldiers,

00:14:18.800 you know,

00:14:19.080 next to Audie Murphy.

00:14:20.660 Like he,

00:14:21.140 Silver Star,

00:14:21.880 Distinguished Service Cross,

00:14:23.640 Couple Purple Hearts,

00:14:25.320 Bronze Star.

00:14:26.380 Yeah,

00:14:26.700 he actually had the

00:14:27.840 distinction of being

00:14:28.980 the first

00:14:29.820 U.S. soldier

00:14:31.620 to receive

00:14:32.980 every medal

00:14:33.640 for valor

00:14:34.160 that you could get

00:14:35.640 in World War II.

00:14:36.500 So that's,

00:14:36.980 as you mentioned,

00:14:37.540 Bronze Star,

00:14:38.020 Silver Star,

00:14:38.600 DSC,

00:14:39.140 Medal of Honor.

00:14:40.400 And he completed

00:14:41.800 the set,

00:14:42.940 if you like,

00:14:43.820 when he received

00:14:45.260 the DSC

00:14:46.220 in December of 1944

00:14:48.020 on the steps

00:14:49.700 of the New York

00:14:50.160 Public Library.

00:14:50.800 It was a big,

00:14:51.240 big media event.

00:14:52.260 So he was the first

00:14:53.740 American to

00:14:54.780 win every medal

00:14:56.080 for valor

00:14:56.440 that you could win

00:14:57.020 in World War II.

00:14:57.640 He was subsequently

00:14:59.360 beaten in the medal count

00:15:01.480 by Audie Murphy

00:15:02.540 because Murphy

00:15:03.100 also managed

00:15:04.480 to receive

00:15:05.240 all four medals

00:15:06.080 and had

00:15:07.700 the Legion of Honor

00:15:08.680 and other,

00:15:09.980 I think he had

00:15:10.460 three silver stars,

00:15:12.200 I'll have to check.

00:15:12.920 But anyway,

00:15:13.220 if you add up

00:15:14.420 the medals

00:15:14.840 at the end of the war

00:15:16.080 and you give them

00:15:16.960 various points,

00:15:18.320 Audie Murphy

00:15:18.760 became the most

00:15:19.860 decorated,

00:15:21.360 according to my research

00:15:22.580 and my sources,

00:15:23.180 he became the most

00:15:23.920 decorated soldier

00:15:24.760 of World War II.

00:15:26.200 But Morris Britt

00:15:26.860 was just behind him.

00:15:27.920 He pipped him

00:15:28.360 to the post.

00:15:28.820 And what was interesting

00:15:30.260 was that the third ID

00:15:31.300 newspaper,

00:15:32.000 which was called

00:15:32.460 Frontline,

00:15:33.360 in the spring of 1945,

00:15:34.920 they discovered that,

00:15:36.120 you know,

00:15:36.900 Britt had won

00:15:37.880 all these medals.

00:15:38.560 They knew that,

00:15:39.120 but they discovered

00:15:39.600 that Audie Murphy

00:15:40.320 was not far behind

00:15:41.800 in the medal count

00:15:42.560 and that there was

00:15:43.740 even a headline

00:15:44.360 which,

00:15:45.040 you know,

00:15:45.540 blared that

00:15:46.300 Murphy equals Britt.

00:15:49.080 And then later on,

00:15:50.740 there's another story

00:15:51.400 that I came across

00:15:52.080 where they treated

00:15:53.340 the medal count

00:15:54.040 almost like a game,

00:15:54.960 like a sports competition

00:15:56.180 that, you know,

00:15:56.720 that these two guys

00:15:57.660 were competing

00:15:59.060 in some way.

00:15:59.740 They weren't,

00:16:00.260 but it made

00:16:01.100 for a nice story.

00:16:02.500 So Britt got his

00:16:03.260 Medal of Honor

00:16:03.960 citation at Mount Rotundo.

00:16:05.560 What happened there?

00:16:06.800 Mount Rotundo

00:16:07.220 is right in the center

00:16:08.120 of Italy,

00:16:09.520 in the Apennines,

00:16:11.140 north of Naples.

00:16:12.840 And that was

00:16:13.580 part of a very

00:16:14.760 bitter mountain campaign

00:16:16.400 that the third ID

00:16:17.160 waged.

00:16:17.660 They were on the line

00:16:18.380 for, I think,

00:16:19.720 almost three months

00:16:20.600 of almost continuous combat.

00:16:22.700 And it was at

00:16:23.160 Mount Rotundo

00:16:23.700 that Britt,

00:16:25.380 as a company commander

00:16:26.280 in the 30th Infantry Division,

00:16:29.840 fended off

00:16:30.360 with his company

00:16:31.120 a very important

00:16:32.980 German attack

00:16:34.420 that had they not

00:16:35.100 fended it off,

00:16:35.980 a lot more Americans

00:16:37.020 would have been

00:16:37.420 captured,

00:16:37.880 killed,

00:16:38.140 or wounded,

00:16:38.760 and they would have

00:16:39.520 perhaps lost their positions

00:16:41.040 on Mount Rotundo,

00:16:42.000 which was an important

00:16:42.740 strategic objective.

00:16:46.220 No, so I'm looking at

00:16:46.860 his Medal of Honor

00:16:47.460 citation here,

00:16:48.480 and it's saying,

00:16:48.880 okay, he suffered

00:16:49.540 all these wounds,

00:16:50.820 but despite his wounds,

00:16:52.460 he refused to accept

00:16:53.440 medical attention,

00:16:54.180 and then he

00:16:55.360 personally killed

00:16:56.140 five and wounded

00:16:57.060 an unknown number

00:16:57.760 of Germans,

00:16:58.780 wiped out one

00:16:59.520 enemy machine gun

00:17:00.540 crew,

00:17:01.420 fired five clips

00:17:02.340 of carbine

00:17:02.960 and undetermined

00:17:03.620 amount of M1

00:17:04.220 rifle ammunition,

00:17:05.360 and threw 32

00:17:06.240 fragmentation grenades.

00:17:08.500 And then in the

00:17:08.900 process,

00:17:10.240 he didn't lose his

00:17:11.960 arm here at this

00:17:12.460 point, correct?

00:17:13.400 No.

00:17:13.960 No.

00:17:14.720 Okay, so he gets his,

00:17:15.700 I mean, so basically

00:17:16.240 he's like a one-man

00:17:17.400 army here.

00:17:18.500 After this,

00:17:19.560 he goes on to keep,

00:17:20.580 he just keeps going on.

00:17:21.380 Where did he lose

00:17:22.160 his arm?

00:17:23.360 At Anzio.

00:17:24.300 He was,

00:17:25.040 it was late January

00:17:26.520 of 1944.

00:17:28.660 He came ashore

00:17:29.500 on the first day

00:17:31.780 of the invasion.

00:17:32.440 Anzio is about

00:17:33.200 an hour

00:17:34.460 from Rome

00:17:35.660 on the coast.

00:17:36.420 It's like,

00:17:36.940 it was the nearest

00:17:37.700 place that we could

00:17:39.720 land a lot of troops

00:17:41.100 where we could try

00:17:42.220 and push

00:17:43.260 towards Rome.

00:17:44.220 And at the height

00:17:45.140 of the fighting

00:17:45.660 during the Battle

00:17:46.240 of Anzio,

00:17:47.600 a shell,

00:17:48.740 actually a tank shell,

00:17:49.700 came through a window

00:17:50.440 where he was standing

00:17:51.340 and exploded

00:17:52.660 inside a room

00:17:53.600 and killed

00:17:55.700 several guys

00:17:56.680 and wounded

00:17:57.220 a fair few

00:17:59.000 and Britt

00:18:00.200 had his arm

00:18:00.860 blown off.

00:18:01.880 A lot of shrapnel

00:18:02.600 wounds too,

00:18:03.200 but his arm

00:18:03.600 was blown off

00:18:04.180 and had it not been

00:18:05.820 for a sergeant

00:18:06.540 who was nearby

00:18:07.100 that took off

00:18:08.900 his belt

00:18:09.300 and applied

00:18:09.700 a tourniquet,

00:18:11.100 Britt probably

00:18:11.500 would have died.

00:18:13.200 So he,

00:18:13.860 he had,

00:18:15.120 he lost his arm.

00:18:15.760 He never got to play

00:18:16.540 professional football

00:18:17.580 again,

00:18:17.840 obviously,

00:18:18.120 and came back

00:18:20.000 to America

00:18:20.420 and received

00:18:21.880 the Medal of Honor

00:18:22.640 at a special ceremony

00:18:24.320 at the University

00:18:25.820 of Arkansas

00:18:26.320 on the 5th of June

00:18:27.420 1944.

00:18:29.320 So he became

00:18:29.820 a really iconic

00:18:31.400 figure,

00:18:31.820 certainly in,

00:18:32.500 in Arkansas,

00:18:34.080 went on lots

00:18:34.540 of war bond drives

00:18:35.660 and whipped up

00:18:37.040 public support

00:18:37.740 for,

00:18:38.240 for the war effort,

00:18:39.460 et cetera.

00:18:40.280 But,

00:18:40.740 you know,

00:18:41.980 paid a high price.

00:18:43.100 He,

00:18:43.700 he wouldn't,

00:18:44.640 he wouldn't ever say

00:18:45.340 so because he came

00:18:46.520 home and he was

00:18:47.100 alive and he had

00:18:48.080 a very full

00:18:49.460 and a happy life

00:18:50.900 in,

00:18:51.200 in so many ways.

00:18:52.460 But,

00:18:52.820 you know,

00:18:53.020 he did,

00:18:53.520 in terms of his wounds,

00:18:54.380 he never,

00:18:55.280 it wasn't a day of his

00:18:56.140 life that he wasn't

00:18:56.840 in pain.

00:18:57.980 And when he finally

00:18:58.900 died,

00:18:59.460 it was because of a,

00:19:01.020 he went in for an

00:19:01.520 operation and,

00:19:02.380 uh,

00:19:02.520 it was a,

00:19:03.040 a complication

00:19:04.280 during the operation

00:19:05.720 caused by a World

00:19:07.240 War II wound

00:19:07.840 that actually killed

00:19:08.520 him in the end.

00:19:09.080 So,

00:19:09.660 um,

00:19:10.580 finally,

00:19:11.120 even those wounds

00:19:11.820 he suffered at Anzio

00:19:13.000 did him in.

00:19:14.400 But he had a,

00:19:14.980 a very interesting

00:19:16.200 and very,

00:19:17.620 I'd say very happy

00:19:18.500 life.

00:19:19.780 No,

00:19:19.920 I'd say,

00:19:20.180 I mean,

00:19:20.300 out of all the,

00:19:21.020 the,

00:19:21.300 the men you

00:19:22.580 highlighted,

00:19:23.040 he,

00:19:23.200 he seemed to have,

00:19:24.140 I mean,

00:19:24.260 he seemed to be pretty

00:19:25.180 well adjusted

00:19:25.820 afterwards.

00:19:26.260 Like he went on

00:19:27.560 to run a business.

00:19:28.500 He was a politician

00:19:29.340 and yeah,

00:19:30.760 he seemed to have,

00:19:31.240 he had like in this

00:19:31.840 surgery that he did.

00:19:33.360 I mean,

00:19:33.780 this happened in 1995.

00:19:35.520 So this is a long,

00:19:36.720 like this is a wound

00:19:37.460 from World War II.

00:19:39.080 That's the,

00:19:39.940 that thing finally

00:19:40.700 got caught up with him

00:19:41.620 in 1995,

00:19:42.740 like a long time.

00:19:44.420 Yeah.

00:19:44.860 Yeah.

00:19:45.100 And he,

00:19:45.640 you know,

00:19:45.820 he's,

00:19:46.120 he was Lieutenant

00:19:46.760 Governor of Arkansas,

00:19:49.020 um,

00:19:49.660 much beloved figure,

00:19:50.980 you know,

00:19:51.320 uh,

00:19:51.760 you know,

00:19:52.220 went to as many

00:19:53.160 football games as he

00:19:54.720 could at,

00:19:55.260 at the University of

00:19:55.860 Arkansas where he's

00:19:56.960 still revered and had

00:19:58.800 a,

00:19:59.040 uh,

00:19:59.940 you know,

00:20:00.720 successful business

00:20:01.580 career,

00:20:02.180 came back and,

00:20:03.160 um,

00:20:03.780 worked very hard and,

00:20:04.980 uh,

00:20:05.740 brought up a really

00:20:06.340 great family.

00:20:07.100 I,

00:20:07.240 I spoke to his

00:20:07.980 grandson,

00:20:08.360 several times.

00:20:09.880 And he said,

00:20:10.380 you know,

00:20:10.580 my,

00:20:10.980 I never remember my

00:20:11.820 grandfather being

00:20:13.220 anything out,

00:20:13.900 anything but positive

00:20:14.760 and optimistic and

00:20:15.640 happy,

00:20:16.080 you know?

00:20:16.560 So I think the

00:20:18.040 remarkable thing about

00:20:18.980 the guys that I've

00:20:20.320 written about is that,

00:20:21.680 um,

00:20:22.080 even though they suffered

00:20:23.100 a lot of PTSD and

00:20:24.960 went through real

00:20:26.300 trauma and ordeals

00:20:27.380 during the war,

00:20:28.460 unimaginable ordeals,

00:20:30.240 they came back and

00:20:31.500 they,

00:20:31.980 they somehow were

00:20:33.200 able to put the

00:20:33.940 water to one side,

00:20:35.280 never behind them.

00:20:36.040 And they were,

00:20:36.880 they led productive

00:20:37.600 lives.

00:20:38.080 I mean,

00:20:38.320 of the four I write

00:20:39.760 about,

00:20:40.320 Audie Murphy's probably

00:20:41.980 the best known.

00:20:43.300 And even though he,

00:20:45.180 of all the guys I write

00:20:47.200 about had the most

00:20:48.220 severe PTSD,

00:20:49.160 he still was a very

00:20:51.020 productive guy.

00:20:51.780 I mean,

00:20:51.900 he made over 30

00:20:52.880 Westerns.

00:20:53.580 He was a Hollywood

00:20:54.300 movie star.

00:20:55.100 He wrote country

00:20:56.280 and Western songs,

00:20:57.640 a best-selling

00:20:58.460 autobiography,

00:21:00.660 you know,

00:21:00.880 and had a,

00:21:01.480 tragically died

00:21:02.880 pretty young at 46,

00:21:04.420 but led a very

00:21:05.760 interesting and very

00:21:06.700 productive life,

00:21:07.420 even though he was

00:21:08.220 deeply tormented by

00:21:09.260 what he'd experienced

00:21:11.080 in World War II.

00:21:12.520 One thing you described

00:21:13.060 with Morris Britt,

00:21:14.160 he described after,

00:21:15.040 you know,

00:21:15.260 he goes back,

00:21:16.040 gets the Medal of

00:21:16.540 Honor,

00:21:16.900 he gets the

00:21:17.500 Distinguished Service

00:21:18.240 Cross,

00:21:19.160 for his actions

00:21:19.800 at Anzio,

00:21:20.640 where he loses his

00:21:21.280 arm.

00:21:22.020 But then he described,

00:21:22.660 like you said,

00:21:23.020 he gets put on the

00:21:24.120 war bonds circuit.

00:21:26.320 And he described,

00:21:27.300 you know,

00:21:27.500 kind of being in the

00:21:28.380 hero's cage.

00:21:29.900 And that's something

00:21:30.500 you often don't think

00:21:31.220 about with these guys

00:21:31.820 who,

00:21:32.360 you know,

00:21:32.760 display all this

00:21:33.480 heroics.

00:21:34.020 They think,

00:21:34.300 oh,

00:21:34.340 they come back,

00:21:34.860 they're a hero,

00:21:35.440 but then it's kind

00:21:37.020 of a drag for a bit

00:21:38.360 because you don't

00:21:38.860 really have any

00:21:39.320 control over your

00:21:40.180 life.

00:21:41.360 Yeah,

00:21:41.620 no,

00:21:41.960 and you have to

00:21:42.420 remember that none

00:21:42.900 of these men

00:21:44.140 that I write about,

00:21:45.140 and in fact,

00:21:45.700 no recipient of the

00:21:47.400 Medal of Honor

00:21:47.880 is looking to win

00:21:49.560 the Medal of Honor,

00:21:50.320 you know,

00:21:50.740 or rather earn

00:21:51.640 the Medal of Honor.

00:21:52.520 You don't win the

00:21:53.300 Medal of Honor,

00:21:53.740 it's given to you

00:21:54.380 by Congress.

00:21:55.140 It's an act,

00:21:57.300 a governmental act.

00:21:58.200 but they certainly

00:21:59.600 weren't looking for

00:22:00.260 glory and they

00:22:01.440 didn't want to

00:22:02.300 become public

00:22:03.560 superstars or

00:22:04.340 superheroes,

00:22:05.020 rather.

00:22:05.380 They were very

00:22:07.660 committed to their

00:22:08.780 cause.

00:22:09.340 They wanted to

00:22:10.080 save lives.

00:22:11.440 They were utterly

00:22:11.980 selfless and most

00:22:14.220 of the time they

00:22:14.720 were just trying to

00:22:15.280 get a job done and

00:22:16.400 they realized that

00:22:17.200 unless they did it,

00:22:18.660 nobody else would

00:22:19.500 or they could do it

00:22:20.480 better.

00:22:20.920 Certainly that was the

00:22:21.580 case with

00:22:23.540 Audie Murphy.

00:22:24.080 So when they came

00:22:25.600 home and they

00:22:26.040 were suddenly

00:22:26.420 paraded everywhere

00:22:27.240 and treated as if

00:22:28.800 they were superhuman,

00:22:30.300 they didn't feel

00:22:31.780 like superheroes.

00:22:32.960 And a lot of them,

00:22:34.240 you know,

00:22:34.400 you come across

00:22:35.360 cases where

00:22:36.120 Medal of Honor

00:22:37.080 recipients say

00:22:39.140 that, you know,

00:22:40.140 receiving the

00:22:40.680 Medal makes

00:22:41.100 an incredibly

00:22:42.000 proud moment

00:22:43.040 in their lives,

00:22:43.720 but, you know,

00:22:44.760 as that medal

00:22:45.400 is hung around

00:22:46.140 their neck

00:22:47.240 in the White

00:22:47.660 House,

00:22:48.440 it also,

00:22:49.200 that act

00:22:49.820 reminds them of

00:22:51.180 sometimes the

00:22:51.740 worst time

00:22:52.760 in their life,

00:22:53.340 you know,

00:22:53.540 when they lost

00:22:54.040 other friends,

00:22:54.680 when they were

00:22:55.100 in deep

00:22:56.500 combat.

00:22:57.480 So it's a

00:22:58.000 burden for

00:22:59.980 some of them.

00:23:01.260 And I don't,

00:23:01.880 you know,

00:23:02.080 that's not to

00:23:02.800 say, hey,

00:23:03.280 they don't,

00:23:03.820 you know,

00:23:04.240 the Medal of Honor

00:23:04.900 recipients that I

00:23:05.840 interviewed were

00:23:06.940 very, very proud

00:23:07.840 of that ultimate

00:23:09.380 award,

00:23:10.060 but as Bob

00:23:11.060 Maxwell,

00:23:11.800 the oldest

00:23:12.200 living recipient

00:23:14.180 when I interviewed

00:23:14.820 him,

00:23:15.660 told me that it

00:23:16.260 weighed heavy,

00:23:16.860 that medal does

00:23:17.320 weigh heavy,

00:23:17.760 you can't,

00:23:18.140 you know,

00:23:18.360 you can't get

00:23:19.380 drunk in public,

00:23:20.320 you can't get

00:23:20.820 divorced,

00:23:21.420 you gotta be,

00:23:22.180 you gotta lead

00:23:22.960 this virtuous,

00:23:23.800 perfect life,

00:23:24.480 and no one

00:23:24.920 is 100%

00:23:26.200 virtuous or

00:23:26.820 perfect,

00:23:27.560 but Medal of

00:23:28.720 Honor recipients

00:23:29.180 are held to a

00:23:29.840 higher standard,

00:23:30.960 even though

00:23:31.420 they're just,

00:23:31.980 they're basically

00:23:32.440 just like the

00:23:32.880 rest of us,

00:23:33.260 they're human,

00:23:34.120 except that they

00:23:34.980 have performed

00:23:36.320 extraordinary feats

00:23:37.640 on the battlefield,

00:23:38.460 you know?

00:23:39.300 We're gonna take a

00:23:39.720 quick break for

00:23:40.220 your words from

00:23:40.600 our sponsors.

00:23:43.100 And now back

00:23:43.980 to the show.

00:23:44.840 So another member

00:23:45.640 of the 3rd Infantry

00:23:46.660 Division you highlight

00:23:47.620 who won the Medal of

00:23:48.440 Honor is Michael

00:23:49.120 Daly,

00:23:49.500 and he's an

00:23:50.240 interesting character

00:23:50.920 because he came

00:23:52.300 from a family

00:23:53.180 with a storied

00:23:54.840 military legacy

00:23:55.760 and it seemed like,

00:23:56.780 you know,

00:23:57.040 he was trying to

00:23:57.780 live up to that

00:23:58.440 throughout his

00:23:59.060 whole time in the

00:23:59.880 military.

00:24:00.660 Yeah,

00:24:00.860 definitely.

00:24:01.420 His father was

00:24:02.120 Colonel Paul Daly

00:24:03.160 and he was a

00:24:04.520 decorated World War

00:24:05.400 I veteran

00:24:06.040 and actually was a

00:24:07.500 regimental commander

00:24:08.340 during World War II

00:24:10.000 in Europe.

00:24:11.500 So,

00:24:11.820 you know,

00:24:12.080 father and son

00:24:12.680 were both in

00:24:13.620 combat in the

00:24:15.200 summer of 1944,

00:24:17.300 not in the same

00:24:18.520 division,

00:24:19.340 but they were

00:24:19.800 definitely in the

00:24:20.360 same battle.

00:24:22.420 So Michael Daly

00:24:23.020 was at West Point

00:24:23.940 and he dropped

00:24:24.460 out in 1943,

00:24:26.720 age 19,

00:24:27.860 really didn't like

00:24:28.560 West Point at all,

00:24:30.240 didn't like the

00:24:30.680 hazing,

00:24:31.300 didn't like the

00:24:31.860 what he called,

00:24:32.580 you know,

00:24:32.780 the intense

00:24:33.240 regimentation.

00:24:34.260 It's kind of ironic

00:24:34.980 that you'd go to

00:24:35.620 West Point and not

00:24:36.380 like to take orders

00:24:37.560 all the time,

00:24:38.160 but he didn't

00:24:39.600 enjoy that one bit

00:24:40.600 and he one day

00:24:41.460 apparently,

00:24:42.540 he threw his

00:24:43.440 books in a corner

00:24:44.100 and said,

00:24:44.600 I'm done

00:24:45.140 and joined up

00:24:45.860 as a grunt.

00:24:46.320 He was there,

00:24:46.980 his first day

00:24:47.560 of combat

00:24:47.980 as a private

00:24:48.700 was on June

00:24:49.700 the 6th,

00:24:50.080 1944 on Omaha

00:24:51.200 Beach with the

00:24:52.100 big red one.

00:24:53.300 So he fought

00:24:54.280 from June the 6th

00:24:55.960 with that division

00:24:57.080 all the way

00:24:57.460 across Normandy,

00:24:58.300 received the

00:24:58.800 Silver Star

00:24:59.460 in the summer

00:25:00.660 of 1944,

00:25:01.040 for actions

00:25:01.640 in the summer

00:25:02.120 of 1944,

00:25:03.920 wounded in the

00:25:04.960 fall of 1944

00:25:05.860 near Aachen,

00:25:07.420 right on the

00:25:08.060 German border there.

00:25:08.900 That's the first

00:25:09.580 German city that

00:25:10.340 Americans started

00:25:11.000 to fight for

00:25:12.680 and then

00:25:13.580 was seconded

00:25:15.220 to Alexander

00:25:16.660 Patch's

00:25:17.140 headquarters.

00:25:17.880 Patch was the

00:25:18.500 7th Army

00:25:18.920 commander.

00:25:19.400 We talked

00:25:19.660 about him

00:25:20.060 and Patch

00:25:20.980 was a very

00:25:21.340 good friend

00:25:21.800 of Colonel

00:25:22.500 Paul Daley,

00:25:23.980 Michael Daley's

00:25:24.600 father,

00:25:25.300 so there were

00:25:25.660 a lot of

00:25:25.900 family connections

00:25:26.560 there.

00:25:27.840 And Daley,

00:25:28.500 you know,

00:25:28.740 one day said

00:25:29.200 that I don't

00:25:29.600 want to be

00:25:30.060 your driver

00:25:30.800 anymore.

00:25:31.280 I don't want

00:25:31.600 to set out

00:25:32.160 the war.

00:25:32.680 I don't want

00:25:32.960 to be in the

00:25:33.600 headquarters

00:25:33.980 behind the

00:25:34.540 front lines.

00:25:35.100 I want to

00:25:36.180 go back

00:25:36.500 into combat

00:25:37.060 and was

00:25:38.180 granted his

00:25:38.920 wish and

00:25:40.220 ended up

00:25:40.660 in the

00:25:41.060 3rd ID

00:25:41.580 in the

00:25:42.620 same regiment

00:25:43.160 as three

00:25:44.040 of the guys

00:25:44.560 that I write

00:25:45.040 about out

00:25:45.480 of the

00:25:45.700 four.

00:25:46.120 So Michael

00:25:47.160 Daley,

00:25:48.360 Audie Murphy

00:25:48.880 and a guy

00:25:49.560 called Keith

00:25:50.320 Ware,

00:25:51.320 of the four

00:25:52.040 main characters

00:25:52.760 I chose,

00:25:53.340 those three

00:25:53.920 were all in

00:25:54.620 the 15th

00:25:55.140 infantry regiment.

00:25:56.840 And Daley

00:25:57.360 went on the

00:25:57.760 line in

00:25:58.360 late December

00:25:59.280 1944 in the

00:26:01.360 Colmar pocket

00:26:01.940 and then fought

00:26:02.660 all the way

00:26:03.160 through to

00:26:03.900 Nuremberg.

00:26:05.100 where he

00:26:06.240 performed acts

00:26:07.600 during urban

00:26:08.980 fighting in

00:26:09.580 Nuremberg in

00:26:10.340 April of

00:26:10.760 1945 for

00:26:12.500 which he

00:26:12.800 received the

00:26:13.260 Medal of

00:26:13.500 Honor.

00:26:13.720 I think

00:26:13.900 it was

00:26:14.080 like three

00:26:14.600 or,

00:26:15.840 you know,

00:26:16.080 you never

00:26:16.320 know.

00:26:16.640 When you

00:26:16.760 look at

00:26:17.000 the official

00:26:18.080 reports,

00:26:18.800 when you

00:26:18.960 look at

00:26:19.140 the

00:26:19.220 recommendations,

00:26:20.460 it's like

00:26:20.780 they're so

00:26:21.440 number-based.

00:26:22.220 It's like

00:26:22.420 he killed

00:26:23.340 X amount

00:26:24.300 of men,

00:26:24.680 took out

00:26:25.020 X amount

00:26:25.440 of machine

00:26:25.800 guns,

00:26:26.220 threw X

00:26:26.640 amount

00:26:26.800 of grenades

00:26:27.220 and they're

00:26:28.280 never perfectly

00:26:29.460 accurate because

00:26:30.340 the nature of

00:26:31.660 combat is so

00:26:32.300 chaotic that

00:26:33.740 it's hard to

00:26:34.520 actually pin

00:26:35.060 down exactly

00:26:35.880 how many

00:26:37.240 grenades they

00:26:37.920 threw.

00:26:38.240 I mean,

00:26:38.420 Brit joked

00:26:38.980 about later

00:26:39.560 on that in

00:26:40.580 the citation

00:26:41.180 it said that

00:26:41.600 he'd thrown

00:26:42.020 32 fragmentation

00:26:43.900 grenades and

00:26:44.720 Brit later on

00:26:45.620 joked,

00:26:45.980 well,

00:26:46.080 how did they

00:26:46.440 know that?

00:26:47.080 How did

00:26:48.200 they know

00:26:48.520 that?

00:26:48.920 I threw

00:26:49.300 32 because

00:26:50.080 I wasn't

00:26:50.520 counting,

00:26:51.200 you know?

00:26:51.520 but anyway,

00:26:52.940 Michael Daly,

00:26:53.840 you know,

00:26:54.940 he was in

00:26:55.720 Nuremberg and

00:26:56.520 his deal was

00:26:57.560 that,

00:26:57.840 you know,

00:26:58.020 at 20 years

00:26:58.580 old,

00:26:59.000 he was a

00:26:59.460 company

00:26:59.700 commander,

00:27:00.220 he was a

00:27:00.580 company

00:27:00.920 commander in

00:27:01.640 the 15th

00:27:02.100 Infantry

00:27:02.300 Regiment,

00:27:03.480 you know,

00:27:03.680 so that

00:27:03.920 means he's

00:27:04.260 responsible for

00:27:05.880 around 200

00:27:06.480 young American

00:27:07.580 lives and

00:27:08.300 he's just,

00:27:09.460 you know,

00:27:09.640 he's 20

00:27:10.840 years old,

00:27:11.420 that's a hell

00:27:11.780 of a

00:27:11.980 responsibility

00:27:12.420 and his

00:27:14.340 mission was

00:27:14.960 that he was

00:27:15.860 to take as

00:27:16.300 many of those

00:27:16.800 guys home with

00:27:17.560 him as

00:27:17.840 possible if he

00:27:19.220 was lucky and

00:27:20.620 therefore he

00:27:21.320 volunteered or

00:27:22.120 rather just

00:27:23.360 took command

00:27:24.020 and performed

00:27:24.940 some of the

00:27:25.340 most daring

00:27:25.860 acts,

00:27:26.340 you know,

00:27:26.520 if something

00:27:26.800 had to be

00:27:27.220 done that

00:27:28.340 late in the

00:27:28.840 war,

00:27:29.480 he decided to

00:27:30.740 do it himself

00:27:31.240 and that was

00:27:31.620 certainly the

00:27:32.020 case in

00:27:32.360 Nuremberg where

00:27:32.960 he went ahead

00:27:33.420 of his

00:27:33.660 company and

00:27:35.200 took out,

00:27:35.880 I think there

00:27:36.320 were four

00:27:36.740 machine gun

00:27:37.380 emplacements

00:27:38.680 near a park

00:27:39.980 right at the

00:27:41.020 heart of

00:27:41.340 Nuremberg and

00:27:42.880 that was the

00:27:43.340 17th of

00:27:43.860 April 1945

00:27:45.680 and then the

00:27:46.280 next day he

00:27:46.780 was shot

00:27:47.140 through the

00:27:47.440 face really

00:27:48.860 badly,

00:27:49.400 I mean,

00:27:49.760 a bullet

00:27:50.540 sniper bullet

00:27:51.180 went from

00:27:51.800 one side of

00:27:52.900 his head to

00:27:53.300 the other

00:27:53.600 and he

00:27:54.840 fell to the

00:27:55.320 ground and I

00:27:55.860 came across

00:27:56.300 an eyewitness

00:27:57.000 support that

00:27:57.920 described this

00:27:59.220 incredible moment

00:28:00.980 when Daley

00:28:01.780 lying there

00:28:02.380 coughing up

00:28:02.840 blood,

00:28:03.940 takes out a

00:28:04.440 pencil from

00:28:04.980 his combat

00:28:05.920 jacket pocket

00:28:06.520 and stuck it

00:28:07.680 down his

00:28:08.040 throat and

00:28:08.560 performed a

00:28:09.080 kind of basic

00:28:09.680 tracheoptomy,

00:28:10.920 cleared his

00:28:11.280 windpipe.

00:28:12.620 So that takes a

00:28:14.640 hell of a lot of

00:28:15.240 sound for

00:28:15.720 coolness to be

00:28:17.280 able to do

00:28:18.820 that when you're

00:28:19.380 bleeding to death.

00:28:20.020 Thank God he

00:28:20.580 had a pencil

00:28:21.060 on him.

00:28:22.280 So he was

00:28:22.760 given last

00:28:23.320 rights,

00:28:24.500 very religious

00:28:24.980 guy,

00:28:25.640 Irish Catholic

00:28:26.320 from Connecticut,

00:28:27.880 you know,

00:28:28.460 a well-off

00:28:29.260 background.

00:28:29.880 His father was a

00:28:30.520 successful lawyer

00:28:31.340 after World War

00:28:32.980 One,

00:28:33.440 so he didn't

00:28:33.860 lack money when

00:28:34.480 he was growing

00:28:34.900 up,

00:28:35.220 unlike the

00:28:36.480 other guys I

00:28:37.020 write about

00:28:37.520 who grew up

00:28:38.340 in really

00:28:39.220 in extreme

00:28:40.120 poverty in

00:28:40.760 the depths

00:28:41.180 of the

00:28:42.160 Depression,

00:28:43.660 given last

00:28:44.220 rights and,

00:28:45.180 you know,

00:28:45.920 miraculously,

00:28:46.460 someone decided

00:28:48.300 they would

00:28:48.640 operate on

00:28:49.120 him and

00:28:49.540 he survived

00:28:50.260 and came

00:28:51.940 back to the

00:28:52.340 US,

00:28:52.760 badly wounded,

00:28:54.020 took a long

00:28:54.480 time to

00:28:54.840 recover from

00:28:55.480 his wounds,

00:28:56.720 was a pretty

00:28:57.180 heavy drinker

00:28:57.740 for a while,

00:28:58.640 got into

00:28:59.000 some scraps,

00:29:00.820 pretty directionless,

00:29:01.840 looking for a

00:29:03.380 way of finding

00:29:04.220 a sense of

00:29:04.760 real meaning

00:29:05.260 in his life.

00:29:06.140 And finally,

00:29:07.480 you know,

00:29:07.700 married and

00:29:08.400 started a

00:29:08.840 business,

00:29:10.980 but he said

00:29:11.540 it wasn't

00:29:11.860 until he

00:29:12.440 started to

00:29:12.980 volunteer with

00:29:13.880 a local

00:29:14.340 hospital and

00:29:16.100 worked with

00:29:16.580 veterans that

00:29:17.120 he found any

00:29:18.720 kind of real

00:29:19.460 deep meaning

00:29:20.280 and purpose

00:29:21.120 to his life

00:29:21.760 and famously

00:29:23.020 or rather

00:29:24.000 importantly would

00:29:26.340 tell as many

00:29:27.040 people as he

00:29:27.560 could that the

00:29:28.440 secret to

00:29:29.100 fulfillment in

00:29:30.660 life is not a

00:29:32.140 big IRA account

00:29:33.240 and three cars

00:29:34.280 and as many

00:29:35.260 foreign holidays

00:29:35.880 and as much

00:29:37.040 money as you

00:29:37.540 can make.

00:29:38.000 It's about

00:29:38.420 finding a cause

00:29:39.580 greater than

00:29:40.120 yourself.

00:29:40.560 Service to

00:29:41.680 other people

00:29:42.220 is what

00:29:42.780 actually gives

00:29:44.000 most people

00:29:44.680 a hell of a

00:29:46.360 lot of

00:29:46.700 satisfaction and

00:29:47.620 is very

00:29:48.100 important to

00:29:48.800 having a

00:29:50.020 fulfilling life.

00:29:50.920 And he

00:29:51.260 believed that

00:29:51.760 absolutely.

00:29:52.520 He said that

00:29:52.880 in World War

00:29:53.800 II it was the

00:29:54.800 greatest honor

00:29:55.400 of his life

00:29:56.020 to lead young

00:29:57.220 Americans in

00:29:57.900 combat.

00:29:58.640 They had a

00:29:59.420 cause that was

00:30:00.020 far greater than

00:30:00.720 themselves.

00:30:01.380 Every one of

00:30:01.840 those guys

00:30:02.380 that he was

00:30:03.420 with were

00:30:04.180 putting their

00:30:04.640 lives on the

00:30:05.100 line every

00:30:05.620 day and it

00:30:07.040 was something

00:30:07.360 that he

00:30:07.680 thought was

00:30:08.180 extraordinary

00:30:09.340 and inspiring

00:30:11.120 and he

00:30:13.020 as I said

00:30:13.600 struggled to

00:30:14.160 find any

00:30:14.580 kind of

00:30:14.880 purpose that

00:30:15.440 matched

00:30:16.460 liberating

00:30:17.520 Europe in

00:30:18.020 World War

00:30:18.340 II.

00:30:19.500 The next guy

00:30:20.420 you highlight

00:30:21.020 is Keith

00:30:21.820 Ware and

00:30:22.400 what's interesting

00:30:22.740 about him is

00:30:23.600 unlike the

00:30:24.260 other guys you

00:30:24.760 highlight that

00:30:25.240 they all

00:30:25.600 signed up

00:30:26.120 Ware was a

00:30:27.040 draftee.

00:30:28.120 Yeah he's

00:30:28.580 actually it's

00:30:29.920 interesting because

00:30:30.600 he was in

00:30:31.040 California working

00:30:31.940 for a catalog

00:30:33.520 company as you

00:30:34.540 know pushing a

00:30:35.700 pen in office when

00:30:36.460 he was drafted

00:30:37.100 and I

00:30:39.780 think he was

00:30:40.600 24 years

00:30:41.840 old so he

00:30:43.640 became when

00:30:44.840 he was drafted

00:30:45.300 and because he

00:30:46.540 had no prior

00:30:47.200 military experience

00:30:48.020 you know he'd

00:30:48.460 not been in

00:30:49.700 RO2C he'd

00:30:50.940 not been in

00:30:51.680 the National

00:30:52.020 Guard he had

00:30:53.440 no prior

00:30:53.920 military experience

00:30:54.860 so it's

00:30:56.060 believed that he

00:30:56.880 is the only

00:30:57.660 draftee in

00:30:58.920 US military

00:30:59.640 history to

00:31:00.840 rise to the

00:31:01.880 rank of

00:31:02.320 general officer

00:31:02.840 he actually at

00:31:03.740 the end of

00:31:04.240 his life was

00:31:05.680 commander of

00:31:06.580 the big red

00:31:06.980 one the first

00:31:07.600 ID in

00:31:09.020 Vietnam where

00:31:09.800 he was killed

00:31:10.280 in 1968

00:31:11.860 tragically but

00:31:13.280 yeah an

00:31:14.480 incredible guy

00:31:15.020 you know the

00:31:15.660 sort of person

00:31:16.040 you'd never

00:31:16.400 think you

00:31:16.920 know unremarkable

00:31:18.480 looking you

00:31:19.300 not you know

00:31:19.900 not like

00:31:20.780 Morris Britt some

00:31:21.740 sort of strapping

00:31:22.420 athlete you

00:31:23.780 know war

00:31:24.100 spectacles and

00:31:25.560 yet this draftee

00:31:26.840 went went all

00:31:27.800 the way he went

00:31:28.300 through went

00:31:29.580 through Sicily

00:31:30.200 Italy France all

00:31:32.040 the way to the

00:31:32.460 end of the war

00:31:33.040 actually he was

00:31:33.880 Morris he was

00:31:35.140 Audie Murphy's

00:31:35.760 company commander

00:31:36.540 in Sicily

00:31:37.540 Murphy belonged

00:31:39.000 to B company

00:31:39.700 from the 15th

00:31:40.740 infantry regiment

00:31:41.300 all the way

00:31:41.780 through the war

00:31:42.360 actually ended up

00:31:43.780 commanding B

00:31:44.460 company but on

00:31:45.640 10th of July

00:31:46.240 1943 Murphy

00:31:47.900 as a private

00:31:49.360 landed in Sicily

00:31:50.960 and his company

00:31:51.820 commander in B

00:31:52.600 company was

00:31:53.140 Keith Ware

00:31:53.660 and after a

00:31:55.080 couple of days

00:31:55.700 Ware

00:31:56.340 apparently said

00:31:57.800 to Audie

00:31:58.660 Murphy you know

00:31:59.500 I'm not going to

00:32:00.720 have a kid

00:32:01.300 killed on my

00:32:02.400 command you

00:32:03.020 know what

00:32:03.640 the hell are

00:32:04.100 you doing

00:32:04.500 in the US

00:32:05.900 army what

00:32:06.380 are you doing

00:32:06.740 in my

00:32:07.160 company and

00:32:08.480 Ware said

00:32:08.940 that Murphy

00:32:09.520 at the time

00:32:09.900 was 18 years

00:32:10.720 old but he

00:32:11.900 actually looked

00:32:12.460 he said

00:32:12.760 Ware said

00:32:13.740 that actually

00:32:14.160 Murphy looked

00:32:14.980 like he was

00:32:16.000 14 he looked

00:32:17.120 a lot younger

00:32:18.060 and if you look

00:32:18.740 at pictures of

00:32:20.080 Audie Murphy

00:32:20.540 from that period

00:32:21.480 he looks like

00:32:22.560 a boy I mean

00:32:23.060 he really does

00:32:23.860 look like a

00:32:24.820 teenage boy

00:32:25.560 he doesn't

00:32:26.000 a young teenage

00:32:27.520 boy he's

00:32:28.180 you know very

00:32:28.800 very youthful

00:32:30.220 indeed so

00:32:30.940 Ware said

00:32:32.160 you're out

00:32:32.560 you're out

00:32:33.040 of the front

00:32:33.600 lines I'm

00:32:34.700 going to make

00:32:34.980 you a runner

00:32:35.380 I'm not I'm

00:32:35.900 not I'm not

00:32:36.560 going to be

00:32:36.860 responsible for

00:32:37.460 getting kids

00:32:38.140 killed under

00:32:38.660 my command

00:32:39.180 and Audie

00:32:40.380 Murphy became

00:32:42.140 a runner for

00:32:42.600 a while and

00:32:43.060 then insisted on

00:32:44.040 going back in

00:32:44.540 the front lines

00:32:45.120 and Ware said

00:32:46.580 okay if you

00:32:47.140 want to go

00:32:47.440 back you can

00:32:47.900 go back

00:32:48.280 be it on

00:32:48.680 you and he

00:32:49.160 did and he

00:32:49.580 stayed there

00:32:50.260 from July

00:32:51.860 1943 all the

00:32:54.060 way to the end

00:32:54.460 of the war

00:32:55.000 he was

00:32:55.600 wounded twice

00:32:56.800 so the

00:32:58.040 taken out

00:32:58.820 of combat

00:32:59.460 arrived in

00:33:00.580 Anzio two

00:33:01.940 weeks later

00:33:02.400 than everybody

00:33:02.760 else because

00:33:03.160 he'd suffered

00:33:03.700 from influenza

00:33:05.560 and had

00:33:06.780 arrived late

00:33:08.120 but though

00:33:08.720 there were so

00:33:09.080 there were two

00:33:09.460 weeks in Anzio

00:33:10.080 that he missed

00:33:10.660 and then there

00:33:12.080 were I believe

00:33:13.400 two months

00:33:14.080 in the fall

00:33:16.160 of 1944

00:33:16.860 that he missed

00:33:18.160 because he was

00:33:19.440 wounded by a

00:33:20.160 sniper very

00:33:21.560 badly wounded

00:33:22.100 by a sniper

00:33:22.660 but basically

00:33:23.840 just two

00:33:26.140 and a half

00:33:26.460 months from

00:33:27.200 out of that

00:33:28.640 very very long

00:33:29.440 period of time

00:33:30.020 July 1943

00:33:30.760 to May of

00:33:31.800 1945

00:33:33.000 Audie Murphy

00:33:34.020 was in the

00:33:35.420 war for all

00:33:36.140 but two and

00:33:36.560 a half months

00:33:37.120 incredible

00:33:37.860 and as he

00:33:38.700 said you

00:33:39.860 know the

00:33:40.460 fact that he

00:33:40.820 survived was

00:33:41.540 something of a

00:33:42.040 miracle he

00:33:43.000 was defying

00:33:44.300 all the odds

00:33:44.880 a fugitive

00:33:45.520 from the law

00:33:46.100 of averages

00:33:46.740 he said

00:33:47.200 that's how he

00:33:47.740 described himself

00:33:48.420 as a fugitive

00:33:49.560 from the law

00:33:50.020 of averages

00:33:50.500 so amazing

00:33:52.360 that he lived

00:33:53.180 so long

00:33:53.580 amazing

00:33:53.900 that he

00:33:54.260 wasn't

00:33:54.740 killed

00:33:55.100 and just

00:33:56.700 an absolutely

00:33:57.460 remarkable

00:33:58.020 story of

00:33:59.160 I think

00:34:00.240 one of

00:34:00.780 America's

00:34:01.320 finest

00:34:01.720 ever warriors

00:34:03.080 I haven't

00:34:04.320 come across

00:34:04.720 anybody

00:34:05.020 like him

00:34:06.580 from World

00:34:07.360 War II

00:34:07.780 who was as

00:34:08.880 lethal

00:34:09.220 as daring

00:34:10.200 as cool

00:34:11.180 under fire

00:34:11.800 as

00:34:13.060 instinctual

00:34:14.300 as a

00:34:15.240 combat

00:34:15.780 warrior

00:34:16.220 than

00:34:16.600 Audie Murphy

00:34:17.340 going back

00:34:18.980 to where

00:34:19.260 what did

00:34:19.560 he do

00:34:19.880 to get

00:34:20.160 his citation

00:34:20.700 for the

00:34:21.520 Medal of

00:34:21.840 Honor

00:34:22.060 where

00:34:22.740 was

00:34:23.020 he

00:34:23.640 rose

00:34:23.900 to the

00:34:24.160 ranks

00:34:24.540 and

00:34:25.460 in

00:34:25.980 December

00:34:26.380 of

00:34:26.560 1944

00:34:27.580 in the

00:34:28.640 Battle of

00:34:29.060 the

00:34:29.200 Colmar

00:34:29.460 Pocket

00:34:29.800 right on

00:34:30.880 the

00:34:31.060 German

00:34:31.520 border

00:34:31.880 in view

00:34:32.840 actually

00:34:33.140 of the

00:34:33.400 Rhine

00:34:33.800 so you

00:34:34.820 go south

00:34:35.360 from the

00:34:35.900 Battle of the

00:34:36.260 Bulge

00:34:36.500 and the

00:34:36.700 Ardenne

00:34:37.020 you go

00:34:37.320 south

00:34:37.640 about 200

00:34:38.200 miles

00:34:38.540 and you

00:34:38.780 get to

00:34:39.300 Colmar

00:34:40.280 which is

00:34:40.720 on the

00:34:41.040 actual

00:34:41.340 Rhine

00:34:41.780 and there

00:34:43.100 was a

00:34:43.440 what was

00:34:43.740 called

00:34:43.960 the

00:34:44.200 Colmar

00:34:44.500 Pocket

00:34:44.820 which was

00:34:45.240 a pocket

00:34:46.060 reaching into

00:34:47.180 France

00:34:47.720 and into

00:34:48.220 Alsace

00:34:48.780 where the

00:34:49.840 Germans stood

00:34:50.580 and held

00:34:51.180 and fought

00:34:51.880 very valiantly

00:34:52.700 and held up

00:34:54.020 the

00:34:54.320 held up

00:34:54.920 the

00:34:55.040 Americans

00:34:55.420 for

00:34:56.440 basically

00:34:57.540 two months

00:34:58.180 and in

00:34:59.280 December

00:34:59.560 of 1944

00:35:00.340 Keith Ware

00:35:01.600 was at a

00:35:02.060 place called

00:35:02.440 Siegel time

00:35:03.160 in a

00:35:04.200 vineyard

00:35:04.620 and basically

00:35:05.820 his men

00:35:06.240 were pinned

00:35:06.660 down by

00:35:07.080 the Germans

00:35:07.620 suffering

00:35:08.940 high

00:35:09.320 casualties

00:35:09.780 and he

00:35:10.540 basically

00:35:11.560 grabbed a

00:35:12.100 Browning

00:35:12.360 automatic

00:35:12.640 rifle

00:35:13.200 and

00:35:13.880 commandeered

00:35:14.420 you know

00:35:14.680 basically

00:35:14.980 called a

00:35:15.680 tank

00:35:15.920 to

00:35:16.180 the

00:35:17.200 front

00:35:17.500 and

00:35:18.120 went ahead

00:35:18.540 of the

00:35:18.740 tank

00:35:19.000 and

00:35:19.400 fired

00:35:19.900 at

00:35:20.060 various

00:35:20.340 machine gun

00:35:20.940 installations

00:35:22.280 and with

00:35:23.380 tracer fire

00:35:24.020 directing the

00:35:25.180 tanks fire

00:35:25.820 and cleared

00:35:26.500 out the

00:35:26.920 German

00:35:27.100 opposition

00:35:27.480 on a

00:35:28.660 hill

00:35:29.140 near

00:35:29.820 Siegel time

00:35:30.480 in the

00:35:31.480 common

00:35:31.620 pocket

00:35:31.900 and for

00:35:32.180 that he

00:35:32.520 received

00:35:32.880 the

00:35:33.280 medal of

00:35:34.280 honour

00:35:34.460 so

00:35:34.780 he's a

00:35:35.400 lieutenant

00:35:35.640 colonel

00:35:36.160 a battalion

00:35:36.660 commander

00:35:37.020 you don't

00:35:37.700 see that

00:35:38.320 happen

00:35:38.680 very often

00:35:39.820 in a

00:35:40.340 war

00:35:40.660 he shouldn't

00:35:41.740 you know

00:35:42.000 strictly speaking

00:35:42.580 you're not

00:35:42.880 supposed to be

00:35:43.280 that close

00:35:43.680 to the

00:35:43.900 front

00:35:44.080 you need

00:35:44.380 you need

00:35:44.840 you should

00:35:45.160 be behind

00:35:45.600 the lines

00:35:46.060 to some

00:35:46.380 extent

00:35:46.680 getting

00:35:47.540 orders

00:35:47.900 but he

00:35:48.660 knew that

00:35:49.040 unless he

00:35:49.640 took control

00:35:50.280 unless he

00:35:50.840 showed his

00:35:51.340 men

00:35:51.580 how to do

00:35:52.640 the job

00:35:53.060 it wouldn't

00:35:53.520 get done

00:35:54.020 and

00:35:54.740 so he

00:35:55.940 just did

00:35:56.260 it

00:35:56.440 he just

00:35:56.820 threw out

00:35:57.300 an hour

00:35:57.560 and a

00:35:57.740 half

00:35:58.040 you know

00:35:59.060 standing

00:35:59.440 back

00:35:59.760 straight

00:36:00.120 walked

00:36:00.880 up a

00:36:01.140 hill

00:36:01.380 in the

00:36:02.120 middle

00:36:02.240 of a

00:36:02.420 vineyard

00:36:02.820 and

00:36:03.140 pounded

00:36:04.100 the hell

00:36:04.320 out of

00:36:04.780 German

00:36:05.240 machine gun

00:36:05.680 places

00:36:06.080 quite

00:36:08.680 he continued

00:36:09.740 in the

00:36:10.340 military

00:36:10.620 and he

00:36:10.860 rose all

00:36:11.180 the way

00:36:11.380 to the

00:36:11.600 ranks

00:36:11.900 rank of

00:36:12.720 general

00:36:13.040 and I

00:36:13.940 mean he

00:36:14.200 actually

00:36:14.500 his life

00:36:15.000 ended

00:36:15.280 in Vietnam

00:36:16.020 actually

00:36:16.860 strictly

00:36:17.180 speaking

00:36:17.540 it ended

00:36:18.060 in 1968

00:36:19.040 in Cambodia

00:36:20.000 but publicly

00:36:21.080 we were not

00:36:21.600 supposed to be

00:36:22.240 talking about

00:36:23.240 being in

00:36:23.620 Cambodia

00:36:24.000 but by

00:36:24.720 1968

00:36:25.400 we were

00:36:26.000 in Cambodia

00:36:26.600 rather I

00:36:27.640 said the

00:36:27.880 Americans

00:36:28.180 were in

00:36:28.480 Cambodia

00:36:28.880 a hell of

00:36:29.280 a lot

00:36:29.500 because that's

00:36:29.980 where you

00:36:30.360 went and

00:36:30.880 sought out

00:36:31.920 the enemy

00:36:32.300 that's where

00:36:32.760 the Viet Cong

00:36:33.300 were

00:36:33.680 so he

00:36:34.500 was in a

00:36:34.840 helicopter

00:36:35.240 which was

00:36:35.840 shot down

00:36:36.340 by the

00:36:36.720 enemy

00:36:37.000 and he

00:36:38.140 was killed

00:36:38.740 in 1968

00:36:40.280 I think he

00:36:40.920 was the

00:36:41.940 highest ranking

00:36:42.820 army officer

00:36:44.880 to die

00:36:45.500 in 1968

00:36:46.280 maybe the

00:36:47.200 Vietnam War

00:36:47.740 but a

00:36:48.760 division commander

00:36:49.360 killed in

00:36:50.000 combat was

00:36:50.940 a tragedy

00:36:52.240 and you know

00:36:53.120 this guy had

00:36:53.780 given his

00:36:54.140 entire life

00:36:55.100 to the US

00:36:55.580 military

00:36:55.980 received the

00:36:57.340 Medal of

00:36:57.660 Honor in

00:36:58.100 World War

00:36:58.440 One

00:36:58.660 and it's

00:36:59.480 very sad

00:36:59.900 that he

00:37:00.200 should die

00:37:00.660 at I

00:37:00.960 think it

00:37:01.240 was age

00:37:01.500 53

00:37:02.000 in Vietnam

00:37:03.640 in 1968

00:37:04.460 he's actually

00:37:05.060 buried at

00:37:06.080 Arlington

00:37:06.460 National Cemetery

00:37:07.240 and I've

00:37:08.340 been to his

00:37:08.820 grave

00:37:09.340 and it's

00:37:10.860 not very

00:37:11.180 far

00:37:11.440 I mean

00:37:11.620 it's a

00:37:11.900 five minute

00:37:12.280 walk from

00:37:12.880 his grave

00:37:13.440 to

00:37:13.940 Audie Murphy's

00:37:15.260 and they

00:37:15.780 actually

00:37:16.120 you know

00:37:17.040 they stayed

00:37:17.420 in touch

00:37:17.760 after the

00:37:18.160 war

00:37:18.460 as I said

00:37:19.800 they had

00:37:20.120 this connection

00:37:20.680 from right

00:37:21.320 at the

00:37:21.680 beginning

00:37:21.980 day one

00:37:22.800 when Americans

00:37:23.380 started to

00:37:23.880 liberate Europe

00:37:24.480 and Sicily

00:37:24.980 where was

00:37:25.960 Audie Murphy's

00:37:26.540 company commander

00:37:27.200 and then he

00:37:27.660 was as

00:37:28.480 where rose

00:37:29.080 to the ranks

00:37:29.600 he was still

00:37:30.940 had authority

00:37:32.380 and control

00:37:33.100 over

00:37:33.580 whatever position

00:37:35.100 Murphy was in

00:37:35.800 so you

00:37:37.320 know they

00:37:37.540 fought

00:37:37.980 they fought

00:37:39.020 in the same

00:37:39.940 unit the 15th

00:37:40.780 Infantry Regiment

00:37:41.380 all the way

00:37:41.880 through the

00:37:42.220 war and

00:37:43.260 stayed in

00:37:44.040 touch

00:37:44.400 Murphy in

00:37:45.900 1955 made

00:37:47.600 a really big

00:37:48.180 movie called

00:37:48.840 To Hell and

00:37:49.260 Back which was

00:37:49.780 based on his

00:37:50.400 autobiography which

00:37:51.440 was a big

00:37:52.040 bestseller and

00:37:53.380 Murphy starred in

00:37:54.380 in his own

00:37:55.420 movie and he

00:37:56.900 contacted Ware and

00:37:57.840 said would you be

00:37:58.280 the technical

00:37:58.680 advisor on the

00:37:59.420 movie and

00:37:59.880 Ware was at

00:38:00.320 West Point at

00:38:00.800 the time

00:38:01.180 teaching and

00:38:02.360 Ware said

00:38:02.680 I'm sorry but

00:38:03.560 I'd love to but

00:38:04.240 I'm too

00:38:05.580 busy but

00:38:06.860 when Ware was

00:38:07.480 killed Murphy

00:38:08.340 took it really

00:38:08.820 badly you know

00:38:09.400 he had a great

00:38:10.140 deal of respect

00:38:10.820 for Ware

00:38:11.240 they'd been

00:38:12.320 through the war

00:38:12.760 together they

00:38:13.240 were bonded

00:38:14.340 by that in

00:38:15.540 fact in in

00:38:16.840 the fall of

00:38:17.600 1944 Murphy

00:38:19.140 had saved

00:38:19.620 Ware's life

00:38:20.320 Ware was at

00:38:20.960 the front trying

00:38:21.680 to see what

00:38:22.040 the hell was

00:38:22.600 was pinning

00:38:24.400 down part of

00:38:25.780 his battalion

00:38:26.300 and he came

00:38:28.060 across Murphy

00:38:28.760 and went ahead

00:38:29.860 and a scouting

00:38:30.600 patrol and

00:38:31.500 Murphy was

00:38:32.080 worried that

00:38:32.560 these guys were

00:38:33.180 going to walk

00:38:33.740 into hell and

00:38:34.380 they did and

00:38:35.200 through Murphy's

00:38:36.300 quick actions

00:38:36.960 he managed to

00:38:38.300 save Ware's

00:38:38.820 life so I

00:38:39.820 think that

00:38:40.200 Ware without

00:38:41.640 a doubt felt

00:38:42.500 you know a

00:38:43.300 great kinship

00:38:44.060 with Murphy

00:38:44.540 and also you

00:38:45.540 know to some

00:38:46.520 extent felt like

00:38:47.320 he owed him

00:38:48.220 his life because

00:38:48.880 he literally

00:38:49.940 came within a

00:38:51.060 hair's breadth of

00:38:51.620 being killed by

00:38:52.160 the Germans and

00:38:53.420 had it not been

00:38:54.000 for Murphy he

00:38:55.700 well may have

00:38:56.680 been killed

00:38:57.900 so we've been

00:38:59.300 yeah we've been

00:38:59.700 talking about

00:39:00.280 Audie Murphy

00:39:00.720 throughout this and

00:39:01.420 I'm sure people

00:39:02.400 who are listening to

00:39:02.800 this podcast have

00:39:03.320 probably heard of

00:39:03.860 Audie Murphy

00:39:04.340 he's got an

00:39:05.680 interesting I mean

00:39:06.400 his whole career

00:39:07.040 was just crazy so

00:39:08.140 you know started

00:39:08.920 off when he was

00:39:09.660 born he was born

00:39:10.340 in Texas broken

00:39:11.760 family he was

00:39:13.360 picking cotton when

00:39:14.900 the war started he

00:39:15.800 wanted to sign up

00:39:16.620 but he's underage

00:39:17.560 underweight I think

00:39:19.080 his sister finally

00:39:19.980 lied and signed

00:39:22.380 an affidavit saying

00:39:23.180 yeah he's old

00:39:23.780 enough to join up

00:39:24.900 he joins up and

00:39:27.120 what I mean what

00:39:28.420 do you think what

00:39:28.860 it was about

00:39:29.720 Murphy I mean he's

00:39:30.740 this like baby

00:39:31.340 faced looking

00:39:32.900 guy but he

00:39:33.760 was just this

00:39:34.480 fierce courageous

00:39:36.840 warrior like

00:39:38.080 what was it just

00:39:39.080 something he was

00:39:39.540 like his temperament

00:39:40.480 he was born with

00:39:41.220 that's a great

00:39:42.520 question you know

00:39:43.140 what what makes

00:39:44.140 a great warrior

00:39:45.660 Murphy had a very

00:39:46.800 very I mean he

00:39:47.480 went through a war

00:39:48.340 before he even got

00:39:49.080 into a war so he

00:39:49.940 had a very very

00:39:50.640 tough brutalizing

00:39:52.140 childhood and

00:39:53.720 hunted to put food

00:39:54.900 on the table so

00:39:56.000 he was a superb

00:39:56.720 shot actually

00:39:57.700 uncannily great

00:40:00.120 shot I came

00:40:01.040 across a couple

00:40:01.640 of one eyewitness

00:40:03.040 report in particular

00:40:04.040 that described

00:40:05.160 Murphy in training

00:40:06.340 and he was

00:40:06.840 literally running

00:40:08.160 along with a

00:40:09.400 carbine and

00:40:10.480 hold several

00:40:11.860 targets perfectly

00:40:12.720 from like I

00:40:13.440 think 100 yards

00:40:14.180 so he's running

00:40:14.860 and firing at

00:40:16.980 targets 100 yards

00:40:17.960 away and holding

00:40:18.700 them perfectly so

00:40:19.500 he could move at

00:40:20.220 great speed you

00:40:21.600 know I think he

00:40:22.420 was only like

00:40:22.880 five foot eight

00:40:23.700 five foot seven

00:40:25.020 five foot eight so

00:40:25.760 he could get down

00:40:26.600 close to the ground

00:40:27.600 and move at great

00:40:29.100 speed which was

00:40:29.800 very useful you

00:40:30.540 know he made

00:40:30.780 himself a small

00:40:31.400 target highly

00:40:32.460 immobile very very

00:40:33.680 fast very good

00:40:35.360 reactions a predator

00:40:37.080 I mean a superb

00:40:38.280 hunter and a and a

00:40:39.580 human predator a I

00:40:41.580 would not have liked

00:40:42.200 to be in a German

00:40:42.800 anywhere near where

00:40:43.680 Audie Murphy was in

00:40:44.840 World War two some

00:40:46.200 people you know they

00:40:46.780 come up with these

00:40:47.300 figures I don't know

00:40:48.120 where the hell they

00:40:48.540 get them from that

00:40:49.340 you know that he

00:40:50.020 killed over 120

00:40:51.080 Germans could have

00:40:52.480 been a lot more who

00:40:53.380 knows but he

00:40:54.600 certainly was very

00:40:55.680 very effective very

00:40:58.020 calm made split

00:41:00.220 second decisions

00:41:01.100 could scan the

00:41:02.040 landscape knew how

00:41:03.600 to to stay low how

00:41:05.500 to read a situation

00:41:06.500 knew how to hunt the

00:41:08.320 enemy knew how to

00:41:09.500 find them knew how

00:41:10.980 to conserve his

00:41:11.740 energy knew how to

00:41:12.640 kill up close very

00:41:13.760 quickly and was a

00:41:15.260 superb shot for

00:41:16.380 absolutely fantastic

00:41:17.340 shot when he was

00:41:18.940 wounded by a sniper

00:41:20.660 he was shot in the

00:41:22.400 backside so eventually

00:41:24.300 I think they took

00:41:25.060 like three or four

00:41:25.800 pounds of flesh out

00:41:26.820 of his buttock because

00:41:28.220 the wound became

00:41:29.080 gangrenous but when

00:41:30.860 he went down the

00:41:32.660 sniper that hit him

00:41:33.820 was under a cape and

00:41:35.540 he Murphy was like

00:41:36.680 trying to find cover he

00:41:38.540 was in agony and he

00:41:39.820 was bleeding but he

00:41:41.480 was he also was aware

00:41:44.260 enough to try and

00:41:45.080 make himself as

00:41:46.480 small a target as

00:41:47.280 possible he tried to

00:41:48.060 find some kind of

00:41:48.780 cover the sniper then

00:41:50.960 lifted the cape again

00:41:53.120 to finish him off the

00:41:55.060 German sniper and

00:41:56.180 Murphy saw this

00:41:57.280 basically a twitch in

00:41:59.220 the distance he saw

00:42:00.040 this cape rise for

00:42:01.660 like you know a

00:42:02.420 second and at that

00:42:03.860 very second bang he

00:42:06.040 put a bullet right

00:42:06.760 through the German's

00:42:07.620 forehead so you know

00:42:09.700 imagine lying there

00:42:10.640 in agony with half

00:42:11.800 your backside shot

00:42:12.860 off and you know

00:42:14.060 you've got the

00:42:14.540 sang foie to with a

00:42:16.160 rifle to to wait for

00:42:17.460 that split second of

00:42:19.160 movement and then put

00:42:20.200 a bullet through

00:42:20.740 someone's head from

00:42:21.580 50 yards and how

00:42:24.180 he earned his medal

00:42:24.880 of honor citation I

00:42:25.980 mean it's just this I

00:42:27.220 mean you could it's

00:42:27.860 like made for the

00:42:28.640 movie like it was

00:42:29.880 basically commandeered a

00:42:31.260 broken down tank and

00:42:33.800 started using the 50

00:42:35.020 caliber machine gun to

00:42:36.160 just take people out

00:42:37.580 yeah that was again in

00:42:38.720 the coma pocket near

00:42:39.800 Holtzsphere

00:42:40.440 village called Holtzsphere

00:42:42.020 where I've been and the

00:42:43.440 Germans attacked and

00:42:45.600 Murphy knew that his

00:42:47.320 company B would be

00:42:48.100 probably wiped out if

00:42:49.000 he didn't take action

00:42:49.800 and he jumped onto a

00:42:51.800 burning tank moved

00:42:53.600 the dead body of an

00:42:54.860 American out of the

00:42:56.500 way and fired the

00:42:58.780 50 cal for some

00:43:01.160 people say it's about

00:43:01.780 an hour in his

00:43:03.300 citation it said that

00:43:04.080 he was on the tank

00:43:04.800 for about an hour and

00:43:06.380 repelled several

00:43:07.620 German attacks while

00:43:09.460 the tank was flaming

00:43:10.440 but you know while

00:43:11.080 the flames leaping

00:43:11.860 around his feet he

00:43:13.540 was wounded hobbled

00:43:15.160 back to his unit

00:43:16.020 reorganized his unit

00:43:17.780 company B and then

00:43:19.260 counter-attacked even

00:43:20.500 though he was wounded

00:43:22.180 so you know it's just

00:43:23.340 like again almost like a

00:43:24.800 one-man army but

00:43:25.760 extraordinary actions and

00:43:27.240 what's interesting is

00:43:28.780 that where his company

00:43:29.800 command as I mentioned

00:43:31.800 his commanding officer

00:43:33.420 through most of the war

00:43:34.580 he was the one that

00:43:36.540 actually made a

00:43:37.640 recommendation wrote up

00:43:39.520 Murphy and had him

00:43:40.440 recommended for the

00:43:41.320 medal of honor and in

00:43:42.700 it's quite interesting to

00:43:44.180 see that you know when

00:43:45.340 you read the

00:43:45.900 recommendation that

00:43:46.700 Ware believed that

00:43:48.020 that Murphy had saved

00:43:49.180 the day that if it

00:43:50.120 hadn't been to Murphy

00:43:50.940 a hell of a lot of

00:43:51.960 Americans would have

00:43:52.540 been killed that day

00:43:53.400 it was a 26th of March

00:43:54.920 1945 in the

00:43:57.520 Palmar pocket

00:43:58.120 and as you said

00:43:59.140 earlier Murphy ended

00:44:00.140 up being the most

00:44:00.980 decorated soldier of

00:44:01.880 World War II correct

00:44:02.700 well we have to be

00:44:04.300 careful here because

00:44:05.000 many people say that

00:44:05.880 he not only was the

00:44:08.060 most decorated soldier

00:44:08.960 from US soldier from

00:44:10.320 World War II but the

00:44:11.800 most decorated of all

00:44:12.800 time but I don't think

00:44:14.440 we can make that

00:44:15.100 argument because you

00:44:15.900 know number one in

00:44:17.200 the first world war for

00:44:18.640 example you couldn't

00:44:19.680 receive as many medals

00:44:20.720 the bronze star didn't

00:44:22.660 didn't exist for

00:44:23.480 example but as an

00:44:25.740 infantryman you can say

00:44:27.040 I think that without

00:44:28.400 being discredited I

00:44:30.060 think that you could

00:44:30.500 say that he was the

00:44:31.140 most decorated US

00:44:32.180 infantryman to serve in

00:44:34.440 the US army in World

00:44:35.760 War II yeah

00:44:36.520 gotcha well and

00:44:37.920 then afterwards like

00:44:38.740 Murphy out of all

00:44:39.640 that he seemed to have

00:44:40.280 the biggest problems

00:44:41.480 with PTSD but he

00:44:43.360 also seemed to be

00:44:44.260 like that he he

00:44:46.300 used his own PTSD to

00:44:48.060 try to reach out to

00:44:48.780 other veterans and

00:44:49.600 help them out as

00:44:50.240 well yeah he

00:44:51.540 struggled a lot I

00:44:52.340 mean you know he

00:44:53.020 became a chronic

00:44:53.920 gambler in the 19

00:44:55.380 late 1940s 50s he

00:44:57.140 he was a hell of a

00:44:59.000 gambler and that

00:44:59.880 was a kind I think

00:45:01.640 in a way the only

00:45:03.200 thing that gave him

00:45:03.940 the sort of buzz that

00:45:04.820 he had from that he

00:45:05.940 had experienced in

00:45:08.140 World War II he was

00:45:09.600 looking for that

00:45:10.120 sense of sort of

00:45:10.720 excitement he never

00:45:11.480 he said he could

00:45:12.520 never feel like that

00:45:13.520 sense of adrenaline

00:45:14.220 rush or that

00:45:15.700 intensity of life

00:45:16.980 again after World

00:45:18.260 War II and yeah

00:45:19.600 had suffered with

00:45:20.780 PTSD you know his

00:45:22.980 first marriage sort of

00:45:24.060 fell apart because

00:45:25.000 you know he was very

00:45:26.020 troubled very woke

00:45:27.520 him and had terrible

00:45:28.140 nightmares slept with

00:45:30.060 a pistol under his

00:45:30.860 pillow would wake up

00:45:32.720 in the middle of the

00:45:33.060 night you know

00:45:33.780 feeling like as if

00:45:35.280 he was back in

00:45:35.860 combat and fired the

00:45:36.820 pistol and various

00:45:38.360 objects in his house

00:45:39.800 so yeah troubled

00:45:41.220 but you know people

00:45:41.900 have to remember

00:45:42.400 that you know this

00:45:43.840 guy had been through

00:45:44.600 extraordinary trauma

00:45:45.760 and seen so many

00:45:46.940 people killed had

00:45:48.640 been wounded badly

00:45:49.480 himself you know

00:45:50.660 under shell fire for

00:45:52.000 day after day after

00:45:53.420 day enough to shred

00:45:54.480 most people's nerves

00:45:56.120 to pieces and yet he

00:45:57.020 came back and became

00:45:58.560 a movie star and

00:45:59.960 whenever he was called

00:46:00.960 out to on Memorial

00:46:02.820 Day or to at

00:46:04.360 ceremonies etc to

00:46:05.920 support the US

00:46:06.720 military to to do

00:46:08.380 what he could he

00:46:09.120 did and he did it

00:46:09.860 with great pride and

00:46:10.800 professionalism so

00:46:11.960 yeah deeply troubled

00:46:13.580 but at the same time

00:46:15.500 managed to be highly

00:46:16.340 functional you know

00:46:17.360 well how did he how

00:46:18.600 did he become a movie

00:46:19.340 star how did that

00:46:20.040 happen do you just

00:46:20.840 kind of fall into

00:46:21.500 that his face was on

00:46:23.620 the front of Life

00:46:24.320 magazine in July of

00:46:25.940 1945 he was became

00:46:27.520 the poster boy if you

00:46:29.360 like for American

00:46:30.400 heroism in World War

00:46:32.400 II the ultimate you

00:46:33.480 know GI and Jimmy

00:46:36.680 Cagney in Hollywood

00:46:37.640 picked up Life

00:46:38.500 magazine looked at

00:46:39.300 this you know boy

00:46:40.340 on the front cover

00:46:41.800 you know Medal of

00:46:43.300 Honor dangling around

00:46:43.920 his neck and thought

00:46:45.060 wow this guy's this

00:46:46.040 guy's a star he's a

00:46:48.100 very handsome he's you

00:46:49.360 know you couldn't

00:46:49.940 couldn't make this up

00:46:50.780 and he contacted

00:46:52.380 Murphy in Texas when

00:46:54.480 Murphy went back and

00:46:56.460 he said come out and

00:46:57.440 stay with me in

00:46:58.080 Hollywood and I'll

00:46:59.120 help you get a career

00:47:01.440 in Hollywood so I

00:47:02.720 think it was the

00:47:03.200 fall of 1945 Murphy

00:47:04.640 went and stayed with

00:47:06.300 Jimmy Cagney stayed in

00:47:07.260 his at his home and

00:47:08.680 in Hollywood and

00:47:09.600 Cagney got him

00:47:11.160 started in a gym

00:47:12.320 and tried to sort of

00:47:13.580 help him rehabilitate

00:47:15.520 him in in some ways

00:47:16.780 Cagney said he looked

00:47:17.420 terrible when he came

00:47:18.380 came back from the

00:47:19.200 war he was very very

00:47:20.080 thin and and he

00:47:21.860 looked like he'd

00:47:22.320 really been through

00:47:23.060 hell and back and

00:47:25.000 then got him I

00:47:26.720 think Cagney helped

00:47:27.760 him pay for some

00:47:29.160 acting classes and

00:47:30.480 then finally in 1947

00:47:32.420 Murphy picked up his

00:47:34.620 first role I think

00:47:35.680 it was in a movie

00:47:36.320 ironically about

00:47:37.020 West Point and

00:47:38.600 from there on the

00:47:39.900 rest is history you

00:47:40.600 know starting Red

00:47:42.600 Badge of Courage and

00:47:43.620 that great John

00:47:45.480 Houston movie and

00:47:46.360 then his most

00:47:47.340 successful movie was

00:47:48.320 The Hell and

00:47:48.760 Back which came out

00:47:49.540 in 1955 which is

00:47:51.720 the is the actual

00:47:53.600 book that Murphy

00:47:54.820 wrote himself about

00:47:55.680 his time in war

00:47:56.440 and then he ended up

00:47:58.180 dying at what 46

00:47:59.340 in a plane crash

00:48:00.800 not not far from

00:48:02.060 Roanoke in in

00:48:03.040 Virginia and it was

00:48:03.840 quite ironic in a way

00:48:06.020 that the colors of the

00:48:07.280 plane were blue and

00:48:08.320 white and that that's

00:48:09.760 the the insignia for

00:48:11.100 the third ID is blue

00:48:12.960 and white blue and

00:48:13.640 white a patch with blue

00:48:15.020 and white stripes so

00:48:15.900 people pointed that out

00:48:17.760 that it was kind of

00:48:18.540 ironic that he died in

00:48:19.400 the plane which is the

00:48:20.060 same colors of as the

00:48:21.340 unit he'd fought with

00:48:22.860 throughout World War II

00:48:23.700 as you took a deep

00:48:25.280 dive into the lives of

00:48:26.220 these men like did you

00:48:27.300 take any way any life

00:48:28.620 lessons from them

00:48:29.840 yeah definitely I mean

00:48:32.020 that it's incredibly

00:48:32.760 humbling or inspiring

00:48:34.440 and it makes you feel

00:48:35.880 extremely small to to

00:48:37.820 spend quite a bit of

00:48:38.600 time writing about

00:48:40.300 such incredibly strong

00:48:42.100 determined inspirational

00:48:43.700 people they were very

00:48:45.940 selfless they gave an

00:48:47.680 enormous amount they

00:48:48.840 were extremely fortunate

00:48:50.780 and blessed I believe to

00:48:52.640 be able to survive

00:48:53.420 World War II and

00:48:55.200 they were they loved

00:48:57.140 other people they

00:48:57.840 had a great love for

00:48:58.740 other human beings

00:48:59.540 and especially the men

00:49:00.340 that especially the

00:49:01.420 men that men they

00:49:02.040 commanded and were

00:49:04.580 utterly utterly

00:49:06.320 selfless their courage

00:49:07.600 was really about doing

00:49:09.340 whatever they could to

00:49:10.180 keep others alive and

00:49:11.200 to save lives yeah

00:49:13.360 look life lessons that

00:49:14.640 you know are are so

00:49:16.180 humbling because they

00:49:17.060 they achieved so much

00:49:18.060 and they had such

00:49:19.520 essentially good lives

00:49:20.800 they what they did in

00:49:21.980 World War II was

00:49:22.780 unbelievable but then to

00:49:25.080 come back and raise

00:49:26.100 families and and give

00:49:27.520 back yet again and

00:49:28.900 serve others through

00:49:30.780 their communities

00:49:31.400 through whatever they

00:49:33.080 could do to help

00:49:34.440 others in their

00:49:34.920 communities which

00:49:35.840 included Orly Murphy

00:49:36.760 that was amazing they

00:49:38.640 lived fantastic lives

00:49:39.840 they were they were

00:49:40.680 great great men and

00:49:41.900 great Americans you

00:49:43.200 know they're just

00:49:43.700 really really

00:49:44.900 inspirational figures

00:49:46.580 you've written you

00:49:48.400 know numerous books

00:49:49.060 about World War II I

00:49:50.080 mean what keeps you

00:49:50.740 interested in and

00:49:52.200 drawn back to that

00:49:53.200 period I think it's the

00:49:55.160 stories are amazing you

00:49:56.980 can't I don't think you

00:49:58.340 can find better war

00:49:59.980 stories than those from

00:50:01.180 World War II the stakes

00:50:02.520 were so high you know

00:50:04.680 most wars are very

00:50:06.720 morally complicated you

00:50:08.720 know World War II was a

00:50:09.660 very important victory for

00:50:11.600 for Americans and very

00:50:13.660 important for us as

00:50:14.800 Lyme is it was the the

00:50:16.860 guys I write about

00:50:18.020 predominantly put

00:50:19.700 everything on the line

00:50:20.440 to liberate Europe to

00:50:21.840 restore democracy and

00:50:24.160 civilization to a place

00:50:25.440 where complete evil had

00:50:27.680 taken over they stopped

00:50:29.620 genocide they stopped

00:50:30.940 the Holocaust they gave

00:50:34.100 so many millions of

00:50:35.060 people hope they they

00:50:36.440 gave them freedom

00:50:38.480 democracy and and and

00:50:40.440 wonderful lives I mean

00:50:41.960 I'm 56 years old and I've

00:50:43.900 grown up in a

00:50:44.500 I was 28 when I left

00:50:46.300 England but I consider

00:50:47.700 myself a European and

00:50:49.020 I'll always be massively

00:50:50.700 indebted to those young

00:50:53.100 Americans Brits Canadians

00:50:55.320 New Zealanders but you

00:50:56.740 know I live in America so

00:50:57.960 I'm particularly grateful to

00:51:00.200 the Americans that I've

00:51:01.640 written about for making

00:51:03.980 giving so much to restore

00:51:07.200 everything that matters to

00:51:09.380 a beautiful part of the

00:51:10.360 world that you know I'm

00:51:12.220 going to be there back

00:51:12.860 there in a couple of

00:51:14.260 weeks and they they

00:51:15.960 brought light to a place

00:51:18.060 of immense darkness and

00:51:19.080 evil and we can never

00:51:20.500 ever thank them enough

00:51:21.400 they it was a

00:51:22.760 unbelievable achievement

00:51:24.140 the greatest I think in

00:51:25.400 American history the

00:51:26.760 greatest chapter of

00:51:27.500 American history the

00:51:29.120 greatest American heroes

00:51:30.220 come from World War II

00:51:31.260 because because and it's the

00:51:33.020 results of what they

00:51:33.920 achieved the the immensity of

00:51:36.360 that gift is is with us

00:51:38.500 today we can vote we live in

00:51:40.420 a free country and most

00:51:42.960 Europeans were liberated by

00:51:45.120 by what these guys I write

00:51:47.200 about

00:51:47.540 well Alex this has been a

00:51:49.320 great conversation is there

00:51:50.520 someplace people can go to

00:51:51.420 learn more about the book in

00:51:52.280 your work

00:51:52.620 yeah you can go to alexkirshaw

00:51:55.460 dot com and you know you

00:51:57.100 can find the book online at

00:51:58.160 Amazon and go to your local

00:52:00.140 independent bookstore if

00:52:01.140 you've got one because

00:52:01.980 that's all that's that's not

00:52:03.100 forget the more books you

00:52:04.340 buy in a local independent

00:52:05.500 bookstore the more independent

00:52:07.500 bookstores that will be

00:52:08.480 around in the future so yeah

00:52:11.100 you can find it anywhere and

00:52:12.320 good bookstores etc and you

00:52:14.440 know I hope people hope people

00:52:16.120 really enjoy it I found it a

00:52:17.620 really amazing moving

00:52:18.720 experience to write about

00:52:20.040 these guys and I I hope

00:52:21.580 people will be inspired well

00:52:23.440 Alex Kershaw thanks for his

00:52:24.400 time it's been a pleasure

00:52:25.120 thank you so much my guest

00:52:27.740 today was Alex Kershaw he's

00:52:28.820 the author of the book

00:52:29.520 against all odds it's

00:52:30.540 available on amazon.com and

00:52:31.720 bookstores everywhere you

00:52:32.700 can find more information

00:52:33.380 about his work at his

00:52:34.060 website alexkirshaw.com also

00:52:36.140 check out our show notes at

00:52:36.980 aom.is slash against all

00:52:38.820 odds you find links to

00:52:39.820 resources we delve deeper

00:52:40.880 into this topic

00:52:41.520 well that wraps up another

00:52:49.980 edition of the aom podcast

00:52:51.060 make sure to check out our

00:52:52.040 website at art of

00:52:52.720 manless.com where you find

00:52:53.720 our podcast archives as well

00:52:54.960 as thousands of articles

00:52:55.780 earlier years about pretty

00:52:56.600 much anything you think of

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00:53:21.640 time it's brett mckay

00:53:22.440 remind you on list they win

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The Art of Manliness - May 30, 2022

The Humble Heroics of Four of WWII's Most Decorated Soldiers

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