May 28th 1971,
The most decorated combat hero of World War II is tragically killed. Audie Murphy was not supposed to be a hero. In fact when he first tried to join the military, the marines rejected him because of his small size. The paratroopers rejected him to. Disappointed and with the help of his sister forging documents on his size and age, he was eventually accepted in to the infantry.
The young Texan wasn’t one to be kept down as he soon proved himself to be a skilled marksman and a brave soldier.
Perhaps his most famous demonstration of bravery occurred on January 26th, 1945. He was in the small town of Holtzwirh France, with his unit of only 40 men. They were ordered to hold a certain road until reinforcements arrived.
Unfortunately the Nazis chose that moment to attack. Murphy’s men were badly outnumbered as they were up against 250 soldiers and 6 tanks.
Murphy ordered his men to fall back into the woods as he picked up his field phone and called for an allied artillery attack. As ally fire fell he was able to take control of a burning tank, as well as the machine gun attached .
Germans were all around him, but he fired on the Nazi infantry for an hour until the ammunition ran . The whole time he was talking on his field phone helping to direct artillery fire.
When his ammunition was finally exhausted he left the tank, refusing medical attention for his injuries and wounds as he organized his men into a counter attack. When it was all said and done in the end Murphy and his 40 men defeated the 250 Germans.
There will be times in your walk with God that it will seem like you are on your own, standing on unstable ground trying to hold off the enemy until help arrives, my simple word this evening for you is to simply hold on and keep fighting.
God never said you wouldn’t get hurt or wounded, He did however give us the tools needed to overcome those things that come against us. Will it get lonely at times? Yes. Will it hurt? Yes. Will it push you to your limits spiritually? Yes. Hold on, give it everything you’ve got because your victory comes in the morning.
When Murphy finally made it home he earned every medal and award you can obtain in military honors, and became the most decorated war hero in our nations history.
Hold on a little longer, because your rewards are greater than the battle.