AHC: Audie Murphy earns more medals in Korea than in WWII

Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier in American history winning the Medal of Honor and 32 additional US and foreign awards during 27 months in the European theater.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy#Awards.2C_Honors.2C_and_Rank

When the Korean war broke out he joined the Texan National Guard as a Captain, but the unit was never called up.

The challenge is to somehow, someway have Audie Murphy see combat in the Korean War and have him win more medals there than he did in WWII. No POD prior to 1946.
 
After the First World War, they made it so that you can only win the MoH once.

Unless they make an exception for Audie Murphy.
 
After the First World War, they made it so that you can only win the MoH once.

Unless they make an exception for Audie Murphy.
That is only for the same action, as in same battle, so if Murphy is in another desperate battle then he can win it
 
It's not so uncommon. A lot of people serve out their time as an enlisted soldier, then decide to become an officer in another service. I personally know six people who decided to become Army officers after a stint in the Air Force or Marines.

For a contemporary example, Senator John Warner was a Navy petty officer in WWII and a Marine officer in Korea.
 
It's not so uncommon. A lot of people serve out their time as an enlisted soldier, then decide to become an officer in another service. I personally know six people who decided to become Army officers after a stint in the Air Force or Marines.

For a contemporary example, Senator John Warner was a Navy petty officer in WWII and a Marine officer in Korea.

Would he be made a Captain though? His last rank in the army was as an Lt.

Anyways, IIRC the Marines were on a whole better lead the Army, so I think it would be more interesting if he was given an Army company in a Regimental Combat Team that wasn't as well lead.

EDIT: Although after reading about George Company, it does sound like a situation that Murphy could thrive in.
 
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I'd hate to see what this would do to Murphy. After the Second World War, he was suffering pretty badly from PTSD and it took him years to recognize and eventually confront his psychological issues. He was a true badass though, so when he realized what was happening to him, he locked himself in a hotel room for a week and forced himself to get over it. Never had issues again after that.

Fighting in a frontline combat unit in Korea wouldn't exactly do wonders for his psychological recovery.
 
Slightly off topic, but I heard of some discussion to nominate him for office, perhaps Governor of Texas?

I agree with CC on the immense negative effects Murphy would go through serving in Korea..almost ten years in hell? I'm unsure if Truman or Ike would risk sending a war hero like Murphy back to Korea, look at Ted Williams.

But if he survives and beats his record, it would elevate him to TR status or at least revive his acting career
 
His acting career hadn't really took off yet, though his biography was a best seller at this point. He truly became a star when he played himself in "To Hell and Back" in '55. In this timeline he'll have a sequel lined up. He can call it "There and Back Again" ;)
 
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I now i do not know that much about WWII military history, but how many more medals can this guy win?

Well, he won just about all of them in WWII, many of them multiple times.
There's no limit to the amount of medals you can win as long as you keep fighting more battles. For example Chesty Puller won the Navy Cross 5 times.

The only new medals he'd be winning here would be Korean medals, though if he joins the Marines he'll be winning the Naval medals rather than the Army medals and they're slightly different. Navy Cross instead of Distinguished Service Cross, etc.
 
I hate to rain on this parade but I don't see the Public Affairs folks allowing him to be in a position to win many more medals. The downside would be too great. What if he is captured? If he was reactivated it would be in a training or support role. Since he had been commissioned in the Army I think transferring to the Marines would be difficult (going to another service after being enlisted is different than already being commissioned) And even if it did happen I think the same PR fear would prevail
 
I hate to rain on this parade but I don't see the Public Affairs folks allowing him to be in a position to win many more medals. The downside would be too great. What if he is captured? If he was reactivated it would be in a training or support role. Since he had been commissioned in the Army I think transferring to the Marines would be difficult (going to another service after being enlisted is different than already being commissioned) And even if it did happen I think the same PR fear would prevail

The PR people of the day were not the weenies of today. They let Ted Williams see combat and he was way more famous then Audie Murphy ever was.

Hell, Jimmy Stewart saw heavy combat and won 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses in Europe!
 
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The PR people of the day were not the weenies of today. They let Ted Williams see combat and he was way more famous then Audie Murphy ever was.

Hell, Jimmy Stewart saw heavy combat and won 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses in Europe!
Well Jimmy Stewart was in WWII. That was different and even though he was still in the Air Force Reserves during Korea he didn't serve time there

Ted Williams was also WWII and recalled for Korea but he was also an Aviator. That is a much more controlled situation than ground combat. PR people were getting 'risk averse' by the Korean war
 

stalkere

Banned
The 7th Infantry Division of X Corp would probably be a better bet. How often do people switch branches of the military? Very rarely if at all.

Hello. You're right, relatively speaking. Inertia is a big thing for most people. and not so much for others.
I enlisted in the Navy in '75, got out in 82, enlisted in the Air Reserve because that was the unit in my local area. I had formy Army, former Marine, former Navy.

when I got my commission, my back ground as Navy and Air Force Enlisted was unusual, but not terribly so. I only met one other Former Navy Corpsman turned AF Aircraft Maintenance and Munitions officer in my career, but plenty of Navy enlisted to AF officer, plus plenty of Army enlisted to AF officer.

Always good to be able to shut up an Airman's whining with "Ah, put a sock in it, kid, back when I was a Seaman/Private I was ..."
"Yes, ell-tee.":cool:

So Audie Murphy switching from the Army to Marine Reserve? Especially when the Marines was his FIRST choice, way back when?

gotta wonder what that scene would look like, at the reserve Center..."Well, Sir, I figure I could try and work my drill schedule around my shooting schedule..." I mean, by then, he should be able to hit the minimum weight requirement - and, I'd like to see how the Corps is going to react to Captain Murphy, with his MOH, signing on...
 
Well Jimmy Stewart was in WWII. That was different and even though he was still in the Air Force Reserves during Korea he didn't serve time there

Ted Williams was also WWII and recalled for Korea but he was also an Aviator. That is a much more controlled situation than ground combat. PR people were getting 'risk averse' by the Korean war

WWII was just five years ago, hardly a different time with different values. The emphasis was on the shared sacrifice of the working man and the high and mighty.

Much more controlled? Air combat was just as dangerous if not more than ground combat. Ted Williams was one of the most famous men in America and he was nearly killed landing a plane whose hydraulics were shot to pieces. Why was he flying combat missions? Because he insisted on it. He was offered training assignments but he refused and demanded combat. The Marine Corp respected that and gave him his wish.

Audie Murphy in comparison is virtually a nobody who's had one nice spread in Life Magazine, published one good book and been in one well received movie. He's a B list star at best at this point, the brass wouldn't think twice about throwing him into the meat grinder.
 
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