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Who do you Consider to be America's Greatest War Hero?

P

Pastfinder

Platinum Member
I was visiting Arlington National Cemetery last weekend and I finally was able to visit the grave of Audie L. Murphy, who was America's most decorated soldier from WWII. This got me wondering, who do most people consider America's great war hero? So, naturally I turn to ATOT for very skewed answers. The floor is now open for posts....
Audie L. Murphy

MURPHY, AUDIE L.

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 1 5th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near
Holtzwihr France, 26 January 1945. Entered service at: Dallas, Tex. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Tex. G.O. No.. 65, 9
August 1945. 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 machinegun 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.
 
There's so many its hard to pick one. I like Douglas MacArthur a lot. He basically fought alone in the Pacific why while we concentrated in Europe. He drove the the NKs all the way to the Chinese border, the landing at Inchon was brilliant, and there's his unprecendented speech before a joint session of Congress, something no other military leader has done before.
 
Francis Marion.

Though you could make a good case for Washington, Ethan Allen, Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson.

In WWI, you don't have anyone who really had the opportunity

WWII, I just don't see anyone measuring up to any of the above.

I hope nobody puts down Powell or Westmoreland 🙂
 
Got this in an e-mail a while ago. Dunno if it's true or not...




<< Dialog From a Tonight Show ... Johnny Carson ...
His guest was Lee Marvin.

Johnny said, "Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are
unaware that you were a Marine in the initial
landing at Iwo Jima ... and that during the
course of that action you earned the Navy Cross
and were severely wounded."

And you know how Lee was ...

"Yeah, yeah ... I got shot square in the ass and
they gave me the cross for securing a hot spot
about halfway up Suribachi ... bad thing about
getting shot up on a mountain is guys gettin'
shot hauling you down. But Johnny at Iwo I served
under the bravest man I ever knew ... We both got
the Cross the same day but what he did for his
Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. The
dumb bastard actually stood up on Red Beach and
directed his troops to move forward and get the
hell off the beach. That Sergeant and I have been
life long friends.

"When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the
Sergeant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me
lying on my belly on the litter ...
"Where'd they get you Lee?"...
"Well Bob ... if you make it home before me, tell
Mom to sell the outhouse.".....
"Johnny, I'm not lying ... Sergeant Keeshan was
the bravest man I ever Knew ...
Bob Keeshan ...You and the world know him as
Captain Kangaroo." >>


 
In WWI, you don't have anyone who really had the opportunity

Alvin York, Frank Luke, ever hear of them?

Though you could make a good case for Washington, Ethan Allen, Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson.

Interesting that J. L. Chamberlain wasn't mentioned, but two Confederates were. Hmm.....
 
If you're going to put in WWII generals (who didn't really get in the line of fire all that much) then I'd add an uheralded hero, Commander Joe Rochefort and all the guys working under him at Pacific Fleet Intelligence in Hawaii. If those guys hadn't been able to crack the Japanese codes (repeatedly as they were changed often) then Midway would have easily been taken and made Hawaii extremely vulnerable to invasion. This in turn would have caused us to shift our primary focus away from Europe and back to the Pacific (which in turn could have affected the course of the war in Europe.) I was such a huge WWII buff in college I ended up majoring in history. I love the stories of all the hidden secrets and intelligence gathering that went on which helped make all those generals look good. 😉

 
Patton without a doubt. Talk about someone that was a no holds barred warrior it was that man.

Go here and read his address to the troops before D-Day. Scroll down to Part II, Part I is just background info, and start reading from there.

"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshizt. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."
 
My Dad.
Although I guess he might not qualify since although he's a "Vietnam Vet" he somehow lucked out and spent 1966-1975 in Kansas and Texas.
But he's my dad 🙂

Barring that, my friend's grandfather who landed at Omaha beach and survived to march all the way to Berlin with his company is my next bet.

It might sound trite, but I'd say anyone who is willing to give up their life to defend our country is a great war hero, even if you never see their name in a history textbook.
 
Dan Quayle of course..

Dan Dan He's the man if he can't do it no one can... 😉



I would say Sherman. He pretty much broke the backbone of the South resistance and ended the war link

I agree with Patton as well
 
Good answer Jzero. My granddad was also one of the guys who landed on Omaha beach, went through the Battle of the Bulge and marched into the deathcamp at Buchenwald. He's a quiet man, but when it's just me and him he opens up and tells some stories that make my jaw drop. One day after a two hour conversation I immediately went home and jotted down notes from all the stuff he told me. I eventually want to write it up one day for my family.
 
The Unknown Soldier.

Stands for all the soldiers that lose their lives anonymously. The men and women on the front lines.
 


<< 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 machinegun 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 >>

Sounds like frigging duke nukem!
 
I have always been a huge fan of Patton and MacArthur. I suppose it can be argued that they we just the right men at the right time, but I have tremendous respect for their integrity and their confidence in their own personal convictions. There aren't many people who could motivate troops like Patton either. I also like U. S. Grant. Of course, I'd be a fool to leave out Washington, but it's sometimes hard to figure out where the true history of Washington blends into the legends.

ZV
 


<< I was visiting Arlington National Cemetery last weekend and I finally was able to visit the grave of Audie L. Murphy, who was America's most decorated soldier from WWII. This got me wondering, who do most people consider America's great war hero? So, naturally I turn to ATOT for very skewed answers. The floor is now open for posts....
Audie L. Murphy

MURPHY, AUDIE L.

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 1 5th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near
Holtzwihr France, 26 January 1945. Entered service at: Dallas, Tex. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Tex. G.O. No.. 65, 9
August 1945. 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 machinegun 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. >>




He's a Texan. This one is easy for me 😀

Others I would include of course are Washington, Patton, and MacArthur.
 
In WWI, you don't have anyone who really had the opportunity

Alvin York, Frank Luke, ever hear of them?

Though you could make a good case for Washington, Ethan Allen, Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson.

Interesting that J. L. Chamberlain wasn't mentioned, but two Confederates were. Hmm.....

I will confess that, for the past four years i've more or less given up military history for political history, so I'm a little out of shape.

I suppose we first ought to ask what defines a war hero. If it's someone who becomes a hero as a result of war, then marion is off the list, and George Washington, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, and any general-turned-president are right up there because they turned their military service into significant political capital and they were well-known and treated as heroes.

I think those criteria are a little difficult; so is straight-out military ability. So the only criterion i can think of is success from difficult circumstances, or at any rate, fighting beyond what would be expected of any other group of men at that time.

I've heard of alvin york/frank luke; don't know enough to say one way or the other.

Chamberlain certainly deserves mention; an oversight on my part.

I wouldn't put patton on the list because patton was sublimely unaware of the political nature of the war, and because by the time America was in Europe/North Africa, the war was decided. It's a touchy matter and he deserves credit, but I don't think he can compete with Ethan Allen.

I wouldn't put sherman on the list because his victories, important as they may have been, weren't that unlikely, and he had a fair share of losses.

Again, I haven't looked at military history in some time, so it could be i'm entirely wrong 🙂
 


<< Adolf Hitler. >>



Who do you consider to be ATOTs greatest one-liner-troll?
Unfortunately, while Hitler's intelligence and other qualities can be argued positively:
A)He was not American. He wasn't even German.
B)He was such a crap military leader that:
1)He fought a war on multiple fronts
2)He tried to invade Moscow waaaaaay too close to winter.
 
Excluding generals and such...

Lauri T&ouml;rni / Larry Thorne. First a finnish war-hero, then an american war-hero. If you don't know about him, look him up on Google or something.
 


<< Excluding generals and such...

Lauri T&ouml;rni / Larry Thorne. First a finnish war-hero, then an american war-hero. If you don't know about him, look him up on Google or something. >>



Cool beans Nemesis. Thanks! 🙂

Edit: Man he was a baddass!
 


<< Barring that, my friend's grandfather who landed at Omaha beach and survived to march all the way to Berlin with his company is my next bet. >>

True that.

I try to remember that the old guy going 55 in the left lane of the Interstate with his left blinker on may be the same person.
Helps me to stay calm.
 
Elvis!!

For real there are tons of Congressional Medal of Honor winners. I like Rodger Young since he was mentioned in Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"

Tony
 


<< << Adolf Hitler. >>



Who do you consider to be ATOTs greatest one-liner-troll?
Unfortunately, while Hitler's intelligence and other qualities can be argued positively:
A)He was not American. He wasn't even German.
B)He was such a crap military leader that:
1)He fought a war on multiple fronts
2)He tried to invade Moscow waaaaaay too close to winter. >>


D00d, it was a joke. Chillax.
 


<< D00d, it was a joke. Chillax. >>


Pretty sh!tty joke. The least you could do is use a smiley so at least we'd KNOW you were joking.
 
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