Today... something a little different. Someone sent me an email about the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington. In reading it, I was reminded of a visit our family made to pay our respects to my wife's parents who are buried there. While there, we also visited the amphitheater where the tomb of the unknown soldier is guarded twenty-four hours a day, year round. We were looking at graves on the entrance side of the tomb when, to my surprise, I came across the headstone of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier from WWII. What surprised me was that his grave marker was no different than a thousand other tombstones in the cemetery.
It is unlikely anyone younger than my generation even knows who he was, which is a shame. His amazing bio can be found on Wikipedia. After the war ended, he went on to star in Hollywood movies, including one called, "To Hell and Back," which is kind of strange because he played himself in the movie. He died at a rather young age (47) in a plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia.
The Initials on his grave stone stand for the following:
DSC = Distinguished Service Cross
SS = Silver Star
LM = Legion of Merit
BSM = Bronze Star Medal
PH = Purple Heart
OLC = Oak Leaf Cluster
No comments:
Post a Comment