CITATION: 2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.

Audie Leon Murphy, son of poor Texas sharecroppers, rose to national fame as the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. Among his 33 awards and decorations was the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." He also received every decoration for valor that his country had to offer, some of them more than once, including 5 decorations by France and Belgium. Credited with either killing over 240 of the enemy while wounding and capturing many others, he became a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division. Beginning his service as an Army Private, Audie quickly rose to the enlisted rank of Staff Sergeant, was given a "battle field" commission as 2nd Lieutenant, was wounded three times, fought in 9 major campaigns across the European Theater, and survived the war.

During Murphy's 3 years active service as a combat soldier in World War II, Audie became one of the best fighting combat soldiers of this or any other century. What Audie accomplished during this period is most significant and probably will never be repeated by another soldier, given today's high-tech type of warfare. The U.S. Army has always declared that there will never be another Audie Murphy.


Birth name: John Sidney McCain III.

Height: 5 feet, 7 inches.

Birth date: August 29, 1936. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone at the Coco Solo air base hospital. If elected as president in 2008, he would be 3 years older than Ronald Reagan, the oldest elected president to date.


Ancestry: McCain family origins are Scotch-Irish. His great-aunt was a descendant of Robert the Bruce, an early Scottish king. John Young, an early McCain ancestor, served on Gen. George Washington's staff. After the family moved to Mississippi, a number of McCain's ancestors fought in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. In 1848, the McCain family (William Alexander McCain) owned slaves in Carroll County, MS.

Childhood Trivia: "As a child, when he got angry, McCain would hold his breath until he blacked out." (Source: "Faith of My Fathers" by John McCain.)

Religion: Episcopalian.

Education: Graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA in 1954. Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958, and the National War College in 1973.

Naval Academy Trivia: McCain graduated 5th from the bottom of his class. Former Reagan administration National Security Advisor John Poindexter (and controversial Iran-Contra affair figure) graduated first in McCain's class.

Military Career: McCain served 22 years as a naval aviator. In 1967, he was shot down over Vietnam and held as a prisoner-of-war in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" for five and a half years (1967-1973), much of it in solitary confinement. At the time he was shot down, his father Admiral Jack McCain was Commander of the U.S. Fleet. Sen. McCain retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1981.

Military Awards: McCain's naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.


Senate Trivia: McCain is one of only three Vietnam veterans serving in the US Senate, the others being fellow Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Medical: McCain has been treated for recurrent skin cancer, including melanoma, in 1993, 2000, and 2002.



Does this look like a president?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1OB2iLxcY