Ok, what with another war and from reading other messageboards (notabely the Jessica Lynch.com) the old military chestnut has arisen about Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in the U.S Military.

I am not a John wayne fan although I have watched three or fours of his films which is due to my Father who is a HUGE JW fan, so I won't go into detail about Audie's factual herioc wartime expierences, he is undeniabley an incredible figure of American courage, but I feel John Wayne DID regret not serving his country and towards his later years he became quite bitter and frustrated. But, he did serve the American public through his entertainment.

I have watched one of Audie's Westerns and while I consider him a very handsome actor somehow he did not represent the ideal masculine American cinematic cowboy hero. John Wayne was, and still is, a man's man, he talked slow and butch, he had a face that looked as if he'd been in a hundred bar-room brawls and on top of that he had wily sense of humour that anyone could relate to.

It seems very ironic that Audie Murphy remains a real-life hero but then real-life sometimes IS stranger than we can accept but, to me, John Wayne is and will always be, a hero of the great American western and should be remembered for that.

Audie Murphy is a great American Hero. He had difficulty getting into the military at first, he was too small too young and looked too much like a little kid. He did as we know finally get in. His first taste of war was in Sicily. He killed two escaping Italian Officers on white horses. His platoon leader was disturbed by how cold Murphy was when he killed the Officers. He asked Murphy why he did that and he replied, Thats our Job. I won't go into the rest of his action but I think this points out that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. The most common thread among them seems to be that they do not feel they are a hero, they just did what anyone else would have done. When they receive a medal they usually state that they accept it in the name of others who have done more to deserve it.

We all carry the baggage of life with us. Some handle it better than others. I am sure John Wayne had his own thoughts, but they are just that, his own thoughts. If you asked Audie Murphy if he was hero I would just bet he would say no.

I have to state that I greatly admire Audie Murphy for his heroics in WWII, but I also have a great admiration for James Stewart he was a quiet hero on and off the screen. He was very honest and wholesome and seemed like a wonderful person hes everything off screen what you see on screen which I think is great. Now onto John Wayne he is a hero but in my opinion a hero cannot be fake ie in Johns case simply great on the screen, Duke did many great and heroic things off screen which makes him a real hero and a man that could command respect from anyone and I personally think that is why his legend lives on

B)

Thanks Boss and WELCOME to the board

Rick

Robbie,

Please elaborate on John Wayne's many acts of off screen bravery.



Northerner.

hi northerner,

i believe robbie spoke about this in another post one thing robbie spoke about was that duke jumped into rough water to save someone when others said that it was too risky that is the sort of thing that robbie is talking about so just have a squize (look) through the other topics and you will find it good hunting

cheers smokey

Thanks for your reply Chisum...Yeah I think Audie's war experiences took their toll on his sanity, I've read on one or two websites that when he left the army he would sleep with a gun under his bed, drive into the country and shoot anything that moved, adopt a lightening quick combat alert pose when he heard the most sudden of noises and sometimes he even pulled guns on his friends.

I also read that he was awarded medals from both France and Belgium and that he was a bit of a lady's man but it was sad that his life ended in a plane crash. He was only 45 at the time but yet he still looked no more than 23....

I always felt that "To Hell and Back" ist the most extroordinary of war films (that doesn't mean the best). Think about that: The man writes his memoirs and they decide to make a picture out of it. Now it's the same guy who relieves the loss of friends and the killing of enemies in front of the camera. That film gets to me every time I watch it. When you compare it with Audie's book there is a big difference. He wrote simple, honest - words about killing and having to live with it the rest of your life. One thing about the difference of film and book: in the film, we see Hurphy receive his medals, the film ends with receiving the medal of honor. Yet in the books he doesn't mention his honors at all.
By the way, "The Night Passage", one of his better films (with Jimmy Stewart) is out on DVD now.

Yo Northener

Acts of bravery off screen were as Smokey rightly pointed out ;) saving a young mans life in dangerous waters.

His two battles with cancer, especially the 1st one as he spoke out about having cancer and faced loosing his career, this inpired many people.

He went out of his way to help Gail Russell who had a lot of problems soem alcohol related, he even risked his own star postion by casting her in some movies in which she was involved in.

He spoke up for the unsung common soldiers expressing his own right wing opinion even though it was unpopular and cost him oscar nominations etc.

There are other acts I just cant remember them all now if anyone else knows of any feel free to add them here.

B)

For the record .......


Neville Brand was the Third most decorated from WWII

Lee Marvin also ranks up there

Both may be found in Arlington along with Murphy


Rick

A site that you may find very rewarding is:
http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/index.html
It adresses Medal of Honor Recipients and some related stories.

The site is maintained by C. Douglas Sterner. I think you will find yourself returning to the site over and over again. It makes you proud to read about the Heroes of the U.S. Many gave all in foreign lands so that they might have the opportunities that we have.

As a retired soilder 17 years Army, with 4 years prior in the the Marines 21 years total I have heard alot about Audie Murphy and Lee Marvin and James Steward and the military explots. But John Wayne is still John Wayne.

Brian
Tulalip Wa