On March 5, 1945, 1st Lieutenant Audie Murphy was called to Nancy, France by
order of his Division Commander, Major General (MG) John "Iron-Mike" O'Daniel.
On this day, MG O'Daniel presented to 1st Lieutenant Murphy the
Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star. After MG O'Daniel pinned the
medals on Audie's uniform, he pulled out of his pocket a Medal of Honor.
Without giving it to Audie, MG O'Daniel showed the medal to him and stated
that General Alexander Patch, the 7th Army Commander, would soon pin it
on Audie during a different ceremony. MG O'Daniel is holding the Medal Of
Honor in the photo below.
About MG John "Iron-Mike" O'Daniel
Major General O'Daniel was appointed the 3rd Infantry Division Commander
in 1944 while the division was still at Anzio, Italy. In the fall of 1944,
he lost his only son, a nineteen-year-old paratrooper, who was killed in combat over
Holland. He was highly respected and admired by all of his soldiers for his
tough professionalism, ability to lead, and his relentless pursuit of the
enemy. German Field Marshal "Smiling" Albert Kesselring, commander of crack
German divisions which fought against the 3rd Infantry Division in North
Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France would later say that the 3rd
Division was "the best division we faced and never gave us a rest." On June
7, 1971, MG O'Daniel (retired) was one of the many soldiers and dignitaries
that remembered and attended Audie Murphy's burial service at Arlington
National Cemetery.
About the Photos
All of these famous photos were taken by Staff Sergeant William Heller
(1910-1972), 3rd Signal Company, 3rd Infantry division. His son, Richard
(a.k.a. Rich) has provided these photos. Rich explains that his father
" ...was an OFFICIAL Signal Corps Photographer with 3rd Signal Company, 3rd
Infantry Division, from 1943 to 1945 ... " These photos have been used by
many film documentaries and authors. One of SSG Heller's photos appears on
the cover of Charles Whiting's book, HERO: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AUDIE
MURPHY.
Rich further states that "I still have my Dad's copy
of TO HELL AND BACK where I found the photo of Audie standing
alone. One of my fond memories of Dad was him never missing the movie
[TO HELL AND BACK] whenever it was shown on TV. We must have watched
it dozen's of times together."
Rich is the webmaster of a very informative and stirring website called
World War II Memoirs - 3rd Infantry Division. This website is an
unofficial history of the 3rd ID as seen through the eyes and camera of
SSG William Heller.
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