(See A German soldier's last letter -- Found after the Battle for Hill 192 in Normandy.)
After many tough battles later, Murphy was wounded on August 1, 1944, and eventually returned to a hospital in England. He was wounded by a German 88mm shell. Victor Barrouk was by Murphy's side when they heard the shell whistling, and could tell by it's sound that it would hit nearby. They hit the ground together and both were wounded. This same shell also killed at least two other men and wounded several more.
Murphy was awarded the following medals:
The Bronze Star Medal
"for exceptionally meritorious achievement in performance of outstanding
service against the enemy"
The Purple Heart
E.A.M.E. Campaign Medal with one Bronze Star.
Combat Infantryman's Badge
Oak Leaf Cluster to Bronze Star
Belgian Fourragere.
Presidential Unit Emblem.
Honorable Service Lapel Button.
W.W. II American Campaign Medal.
W.W. II Victory Medal.
American Defense Service Medal.
Good Conduct Medal.
July 2001
Copyright Maurice Higginbotham
Old Stone
Church, St. Georges d'Elle Normandy
where Murphy was engaged in many firefights. The town was won and lost back
to Germans several times before Americans finally took it for good. Located
at base of Hill-192 on outskirts of St. Lo, France. Soldier in foreground is
Dewey Lee. Lee served with the Army of Occupation in France and returned to
the scene in the 1950s.
Lee said that during the fighting , large stacks of dead American soldiers
were piled on the deck of the church behind where he is standing. The
church was destroyed in the fighting, and the rebuilt building appears in
the photo above.
Photo Courtesy Maurice Higginbotham
Murphy
Higginbotham landed at Normandy on June 7, 1944. He was the
number one man on a B.A.R. team; his ammunition carrier was Elmer
Hanson. Murphy later told about his troop ship being just a few yards
(very close) to the Battleship Texas while they were firing their huge guns
at the German positions. He said that no commercial fireworks display in the
world could compare with the display put on by these big naval guns. He
described it as awesome, fearful, and beautiful, particularly at night. He
said that when the Texas gave the Germans a broadside, the whole ship moved
sideways several yards from the recoil.
The first major battle they encountered against well-prepared enemy
positions was when they came up against St. George d'Elle. This hard
fought over town was much disputed throughout the next month and changed
hands many times. Five times American Infantrymen have fought their way into
the dozen or so scarred stone buildings which were the town. Four times
German infantrymen and units of a crack paratroop division have retaken it.
The real
battle began June 12th. After that, it became a long weird
time of shuttling across hedgerows and barley fields. The Americans and
Germans were separated by only two feet of matted hedgerows; a time of
fighting by squads and teams of two and three men. Defensive positions had
been well dug in far ahead of the attack, with underground shelters, gun
emplacements and communication trenches.
By June 12, the Division had pushed 25 kilometers inland from the sea in
four days of actual combat. Everywhere, the beautiful Normandy Hedgerow
Country was marred with the terrible destruction of war. The dead lay all
about amid the blooming gardens and the doorways of the Normandy fields and
villages in the balmy June weather.
The
Germans had very favorable defensive positions because of the hedgerows and
terrain. Anyone who fought in the hedgerows realizes that at best the going
was slow, and that a skillful defending force could cause great delay and
heavy losses to an attacking force many times stronger. Seldom could one see
beyond the confines of the field. The terrain prevented an attacker from
using firepower effectively. German counter-attacks in the hedgerows failed
largely for the same reason.
(Click here for
a German soldier's last letter -- A rare and interesting look of
what was going on in the thinning ranks of the demoralized Germans)
About June 13th or 14th Company I was almost wiped out when
our naval artillery fire fell on our own men. Medic Beecham stated
that; When this fire began falling on our men, I went to the Commanding
Officer and told him to hold the navy fire. In very short order, the fire
stopped and reinforcements of all kinds came pouring in. The new officers
and field medics assisted Company I with trucks bringing in new men and
hauling out the dead and wounded. When the navy stopped firing, some men
went to sleep. The men were so tense that we had to kick them to find out if
they were alive. They had made it to a fresh artillery hole, as they were
trained to do. Some holes had four or five men in them covered with trash.
A German counter attack on June 15th drove our forces back slightly. The
Second Division launched another attack early the next morning. They met
strong opposition, but made slight gains that day. St. George's d'Elle
with its lovely stone church was transformed into a place of evil. The dead,
khaki, gray and green were piled so high in the gullies that a truce was
called to bury them. American and German platoon fought hand to hand for 30
minutes, a very long time with bayonets and rifle butts.
Mortar shells uprooted old lichen-dappled tombstones in the church cemetery.
Infantrymen dug deep in the graveyard and stirred old bones to escape the
rain of fire. In the draw just south of town the dead and wounded began to
pile up in the tall grass, where rain had made the smell of the earlier dead
heavy and foul. This is where Murphy's best army buddy Jesse (Punk)
Clifford was killed.
Murphy
during training at Ft. Sam Houston c. 1940
Note WW I issue helmet
Photo Courtesy Maurice Higginbotham