Nobody can say Gov. Rick Perry doesn’t appreciate a war hero, although some might question his timing.
Today, Perry awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Audie Murphy, a World War II hero.
The timing is rather curious, seeing as how Murphy has been dead for more than 40 years. Oh yeah, and during his lifetime Murphy was awarded with more medals than just about any U.S. soldier ever.
Murphy was the most decorated soldier of WWII, a courageous badass who ended up with Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor, the highest medal for bravery awarded by the military to U.S. soldiers.
He’s also got his face on a stamp and his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Murphy died in 1971.
“Audie Murphy remains a shining example for anyone who believes in the importance of service, for generations now and into the future,” Perry said.
No word on whether Davy Crockett will also be honored.
State officials might have been spurred to present the award after hearing Murphy’s relatives lamenting to the New York Times in June that Murphy had never been awarded his home state’s highest medal for military service. The article describes how efforts by family members to have Murphy awarded posthumously were thwarted by bureaucratic red tape and a large number of potential candidates in “a state with an oversize military presence.”
“It’s an honor that’s long overdue for Audie Murphy, and the governor is very proud to have played a role in making this award possible,” the governor’s spokesman Rich Parsons told Blotch this afternoon.
Jeff,
I am the person that spearheaded the campaign for this award beginning three years ago. I just want to take a moment to set the record straight.
First, I also contacted the Tribune for the New York Times article that you referred to.It was at my request that the article was written. The author did get the story wrong only in that he cited the “family desire” to see that the state awarded Murphy this honor. The familynever requested such honor, as it was my concept, however they did desire that if it was rendered that it be done so prior to the passing of his only living sibling.
Secondly, the timing was not curious as this has been an ongoing effort for over three years, one that was waged solely by fans and supporters and the family was in no way involved.
Lastly, I might add that it was not an easy effort, and only through a very public social media campaign was this able to be brought to fruition.
I am providing you a link to an article I penned on watchdogwire.com recently that outlines the story of the award and how it came about through our campaign.
http://watchdogwire.com/texas/2013/08/30/audie-murphy-finally-awarded-the-texas-legislative-medal-of-honor/
Thanks!
I must criticize the satirical tone of Jeff’s article concerning the awarding of the Texas Medal of Honor to Audie Murphy. Mr. Murphy is not just a long dead historical figure but one of our country’s most valuable citizens as are every one of the men and women who leave our shores to fight and die for the U.S.A. He turned his fame as WWII’s most renown combat soldier into a life long fight to convince us to acknowledge and help his fellow soldiers in their struggles and pain with combat induced PTSD, a condition which is not dead but very much alive today. Jeff, go back to school; this time really study and learn about who we are as a nation and how people like Audie Murphy and Dave Crockett made this country a place where silly, uninformed writers can say anything in print. We all owe them that much respect and honor.