| HEADQUARTERS SEVENTH ARMY |
| APO 758 | US Army |
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| GENERAL ORDERS ) |
28 January 1945 |
| NUMBER 21 ) |
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| Award of the Distinguished-Service Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II |
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II - AWARD OF THE DISTINGUISHED-SERVICE CROSS.
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By direction of the President, under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-45,
22 September 1943, as amended, the Distinguished-Service Cross is awarded by
the Army Commander to the following named individuals:
AUDIE L. MURPHY, 01 692 509,
Second Lieutenant, (then Staff Sergeant), Infantry, Company "B", 15th
Infantry Regiment, for extraordinary heroism in action. Landing near
Ramatuelle, France, with the first wave of the assault infantry, at 0800
hours, 15 August until halted by intense machine gun and small arms fire
from a boulder-covered hill to his front. Leaving his men in a covered
position, he dashed forty yards through withering fire to a draw. Using
this defiladed route, he went back toward the beaches, found a light machine
gun squad and, returning up the rocky hill, placed the machine gun in
position seventy-five yards in advance of his platoon. In the duel which
ensued, Lieutenant Murphy silenced the enemy weapon, killed two of the crew
and wounded a third. As he proceeded further up the draw, two Germans advanced
toward him. Quickly destroying both of them, he dashed up the draw alone
toward the enemy strongpoint, disregarding bullets which glanced off the
rocks around him and hand grenades which exploded fifteen yards away. Closing
in, he wounded two Germans with carbine fire, killed two more in a fierce,
brief fire-fight, and forced the remaining five to surrender. His extraordinary
heroism resulted in the capture of a fiercely contested enemy-held hill and
the annihilation or capture of the entire enemy garrison. Entered military
service from Farmersville, Texas.
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By command of Lieutenant General PATCH:
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| ARTHUR A. WHITE, |
| Major General, GSC, |
| Chief of Staff. |
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OFFICIAL:
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| /s/ | W. G. CALDWELL |
| W. G. CALDWELL |
| Colonel, AGD |
| Adjutant General. |
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