The noble ruins of men lie buried here.
You were strong men, good men.
Endowed with youth, and much the will to live
I hear no protests from the mute lips of the dead.
They rest, there is no more to give.
So long my comrades.
Sleep ye where you fell upon the field.
But tread softly please
March oer my heart with ease
March on and on.
But to God alone we kneel.
[Audie Murphy]
We often pause to consider our national heroes, and especially our own Sons of the South, for examples of courage and faith. Audie Murphy is one such hero. He was the son of a poor cotton
sharecropper. He was also, on his mother's side, the grandson of Confederate veteran Curtis Gill who served in the 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Lillard's) and who was killed in 1864 while returning to his home.
Murphy was born in rural Texas on June 20, 1924, the seventh of 12 children. His father abandoned the family in 1934. At 15 his mother died, so he quit school to help support the family, and became a crack rifle shot to put food on the table.
At age 16 Murphy enlisted. He was
too small for the Marines (5'5 112 pounds). The Army
took him, but he could not get into the Airborne as he desired. Instead, he was placed in the 3rd Infantry
Division as a private. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in the enlisted
ranks, and received a battlefield commission to Lieutenant. "Baby Face" Murphy was credited
with killing 241 enemy and no doubt wounded many, many others. He served in nine
major campaigns while receiving 33 US medals to include three Purple Hearts
and the Congressional
Medal of Honor. He was the most highly decorated soldier of the war. After the war he continued his service to his country and served in the Texas National Guard advancing to the rank of Major before his death. I commend the excellent on-line presentation of
Major Murphy for a brief accounting of his wartime accomplishments... very well done. Here
also is an article about Major Murphy from the Christian
Science Monitor published in 1955.
Major Murphy said in his book, To Hell and
Back, " When I was a child, I was told that men were branded by war.
Has the brand been put on me? Have the years of blood and ruin stripped me of
all decency? Of all belief? Not of all belief. I believe in the force of a
hand grenade, the power of artillery, the accuracy of a Garand. I believe in
hitting before you get hit, and that dead men do not look noble. "But I also
believe in men like Brandon and Novak and Swope and Kerrigan; and all the men
who stood up against the enemy, taking their beatings without whimper and
their triumphs without boasting. The men who went and would go again to hell
and back to preserve what our country thinks right and decent. My country.
America! That is it. We have been so intent on death that we have forgotten
life. And now suddenly life faces us. I swear to myself that I will measure up
to it. I may be branded by war, but I will not be defeated by it. Gradually it
becomes clear. I will go back. I will find the kind of girl of whom I once
dreamed. I will learn to look at life through uncynical eyes, to have faith,
to know love. I will learn to work in peace as in war. And finally - finally,
like countless others, I will learn to live again."
After the war, Murphy indeed did live again, becoming one of our nation's most recognized movie stars. He stood firm for the
veteran and his needs, and also for the values of his country. I have no doubt that God was in his thoughts and heart in the days of battle and of peace. As a youth, I recall him as a virtuous man -- a man who taught a young generation of Americans honor, courage, judgement, humility, and fidelity - it seems he always wore a white hat. One of his most memorable films was the "Red Badge of Courage", the story of a Union soldier in the War Between the States who fled the battlefield in fear, only to come to a point of shame and repentance, and earn back his honor in another battle. He joined the Masons, upholding their values and traditions, and rising to 33rd degree Shriner.
All was not perfect for Murphy; he suffered from Battle Fatigue (PTSD) after the war, and he had his bouts with addictions to medications as well as an expensive and compulsive gambling habit. These faults notwithstanding, his life was wholesome and certainly a blessing for our country.
Audie Murphy died in an airplane crash on May 28, 1971 at the age of 46. He had two funeral services, one in Hollywood, and another at the First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery where his grave is one of the most visited. His memory lives on in his contributions to his country. His decorations for valor are not likely to ever be matched. May he, like his fallen comrades for whom he wrote the opening poem, rest and sleep in peace till that Great Day of Reckoning.
King David wrote this verse in Psalm 34. He was led by the Holy Spirit to record the oracles of God in these songs. Scripture affirms that to those whom God has chosen, and who fear and serve him, to them he sends forth his angels. Our Lord said that in heaven, their angels are before the face of the Father day and night [Mt 18:10]. God guides, protects, strengthens, and comforts them that are his in time of adversity according to his will. [Ps 34:7, Ex 33:2, Jud 6:12, 1Ki 19:5], and fights against those that are against him. [Jos 5:13, 2 Ki 19:35, Is 37:36]
A few weeks ago Chaplain Chaltas wrote the lesson "Angels Unawares", the title was taken from Paul's admonition to men to treat all with hospitality, for we know not when an angel is in our presence. In another place, it was Elisha that prayed that the eyes of his servant might be opened to see the Army of Angels that surrounded his Assyrian enemy [2Ki 6:17]. In considering these verses, I wondered, "could it be that Audie Murphy, and the men of his company were also in the presence of angels according to God's good will? Could it be that God was with all of the Allied forces in a special way that led to their victory?"
Today, I pray that God is with our troops in Iraq and has dispatched his angels to encamp about them. As I write these very words my son begins his deployment with the 1st Battalion, 149th "Mountain Warriors" Kentucky Infantry Regiment to Iraq and into combat. I bid your prayers that God would send forth his angels to tarry about yet another Son of the South and his Kentucky comrades.
O LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect [Name and] all the soldiers of our country; Send thine angels to encamp about them; Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
[Adapted from the 1944 Soldier's and Sailor's Prayer Book]
One year later: The 17 Sunday after Trinity, MMVII, 30 September 2007: Addendum.
It is now one year later by the Church calendar. The 149th Kentucky Infantry, and my son, returned home this past Tuesday from combat, and we celebrated their return in Ruph Arena today. Our Camp duly recognized the sacrifice of these Kentucky warriors, whose heritatge and tradition goes back to battles like Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga. The Camp voted the Mountain Warriors honorary members in August. I thank you for your prayers and give thanks to God for watching over this battalion. msc
The Reverend Lt. Colonel Mark Carroll (Ret), Colonel Ben Caudill Camp
Preached at Saint John Baptist Anglican Church the 17th Sunday After Trinity MMVI
1st qutotion from the PB Psalter of David as translated by Coverdale in about 1540, the second from the KJV of 1611.