Many have seen the classic picture, To Hell And Back, in which Audie Murphy plays himself. While the movie was a magnificent piece for its time it did little to hold a candle to the actual book. In To Hell And Back you get a look at WWII through the eyes of the hero himself, as he fights on all fronts of the war. You experience firsthand the sights, smells, sounds and emotions of the war that changed the history of the world.
Audie begins his story on a beach in North Africa shortly after an amphibious assault. Within pages we see his development as a combat infantryman and get to learn more about how he came to be in the Army. You learn quickly that Audie is a humble man who thinks himself not a hero but as a man who loves his friends.
Audie Murphy stood only five foot five and weighed a mere one hundred ten pounds when he entered service. It was after being turned down by both the Marines and the Paratroop Corps that Audie enlisted into the Army infantry. Throughout his training, young Audie Murphy, only eighteen years old, was constantly picked on for his size and in one specific instance, was almost kicked out of the infantry based on his size. Craving to serve and fight, Audie refused to allow anything to stand in his way and eventually joined the 3rd Infantry Divisions famed 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment. Attached to Baker Company, Audie made several different assaults and stayed in constant combat until the war ended.
His legacy and example are famed celebrated throughout the Army today. A high honor for enlisted soldiers is to win the coveted SGT Audie Murphy Board Award, which is a competition between Non Commissioned Officers. Furthermore there are many facilities named after him throughout the Army.
To read this classic memoir is to understand his journey and perhaps what other men like him experienced in the war. Beautifully written and masterfully told, To Hell And Back is one of the most important works of war history in our nation’s history and told by our nation’s greatest war hero. You will walk the trails with him and his friends as they dodge bullets and artillery, pull onto shores with him under fire in amphibious assault vehicles, cry with him as he loses his friends one after another and cherish the simplicity of those little moments with friends that remain memories for a life time. His story is more than just combat, it is about friendship and honor. And in the most ironic of places to find the true spirit of humanity you will find it here. If you have never heard the name Audie Murphy before you read this book I can assure you that his name will never be forgotten after you finish it.
