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on April 29, 2015
This was not the easiest book to read. It has had a profound effect on me, though. I finished it a couple weeks ago and didn't want to review it right away. The takeaway is that WWII front line men had to essentially see other soldiers as a thing that needed to move forward. The enemy was also not a group of people; they were barriers that needed to be dropped. Rarely does the term "shot him" come up. There are so many words used besides the ultimate "I killed him." My father was an infantryman. I understand him so much better than I ever thought I could. I did keep waiting for something to happen, to read the other side of the soldiers' lives, but that didn't happen. It is grit from beginning to end. No wonder WWII vets never talked. Their battle fatigue was real. They learned too well how to compartmentalize.
on December 22, 2012
"I am well acquainted with fear. It strikes first in the stomach, coming like the disemboweling hand that is thrust into the carcass of a chicken. I feel now as though icy fingers have reached into my mid-parts and twisted the intestines into knots." -Pg. 96.
I assume this vivid description was probably written by a ghost writer who helped Audie with the book, but it graphically describes what vivid accounts are contained in Audie' recounting his experiences on the battle field. I roomed in graduate school with a student who had been an officer of a roving band of fighters in the Vietnam war. I would ask him about his experiences and some of his stories of killing prisoners and keeping a small gun in case he was captured in order to take his on life so that he wouldn't be tortured, were chilling. He finally said, "I cannot explain war to you, you have to have been there to experience it first hand in order to understand war." His words rung true in reading Audie Murphy's memoir "To Hell and Back", and seeing from Audie's eyes, the incredible story of his life on the front line. His division lost 4,500 men over a 7 month period. His friends and companions that he started off with were all killed. At times his determination and drive turned him into a one-man killing machine and his own personal war.
I grew up not caring for Audie Murphy's movies, as this clean-cut young man, with the boyish face, he did not look like the Medal of Honor winner that I pictured in my mind and didn't fit in with the movie roles that he was in as the lead hero. But after reading his book, I watched his movie of the same title of his war experience with a renewed fascination and appreciation for his accomplishments and what he endured. To those that watched the movie too, the book is more in depth and the accounts of the casualties are more graphic. I have never been to war, but I have a better appreciation for those that have given their all after reading his account. We are fortunate to have the latest Medal of Honor recipient, Dakota Meyers, from the adjoining county. After reading Audie's book, I have ordered Dakota's book "Into the Fire". This is a true hard-to-put-down book with riveting action. One wonders that if Audie had lived, if he may have beaten Reagan to the Commander In Chief position!
I assume this vivid description was probably written by a ghost writer who helped Audie with the book, but it graphically describes what vivid accounts are contained in Audie' recounting his experiences on the battle field. I roomed in graduate school with a student who had been an officer of a roving band of fighters in the Vietnam war. I would ask him about his experiences and some of his stories of killing prisoners and keeping a small gun in case he was captured in order to take his on life so that he wouldn't be tortured, were chilling. He finally said, "I cannot explain war to you, you have to have been there to experience it first hand in order to understand war." His words rung true in reading Audie Murphy's memoir "To Hell and Back", and seeing from Audie's eyes, the incredible story of his life on the front line. His division lost 4,500 men over a 7 month period. His friends and companions that he started off with were all killed. At times his determination and drive turned him into a one-man killing machine and his own personal war.
I grew up not caring for Audie Murphy's movies, as this clean-cut young man, with the boyish face, he did not look like the Medal of Honor winner that I pictured in my mind and didn't fit in with the movie roles that he was in as the lead hero. But after reading his book, I watched his movie of the same title of his war experience with a renewed fascination and appreciation for his accomplishments and what he endured. To those that watched the movie too, the book is more in depth and the accounts of the casualties are more graphic. I have never been to war, but I have a better appreciation for those that have given their all after reading his account. We are fortunate to have the latest Medal of Honor recipient, Dakota Meyers, from the adjoining county. After reading Audie's book, I have ordered Dakota's book "Into the Fire". This is a true hard-to-put-down book with riveting action. One wonders that if Audie had lived, if he may have beaten Reagan to the Commander In Chief position!
on October 25, 2016
Incredible read.. If you've seen the movie - this is nothing like it. Hard and gritty talk. Tells of the deprivations, danger, fear and black humor of the combat infantryman. incredible insight to the man. Wish they'd remake the movie in the style of "Saving Private Ryan" - not the sanitized version made in the 1950's. Tremendous story of one our country's greatest hero's.
on May 12, 2017
Wow excellent book. I'll bet I've read 30-40 books written by men who went to war and this one is by far is one of the most gripping personal accounts of war that I've ever read. And to think he was only 19 when he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
on August 5, 2017
Audie Murphy - WWII hero. But he was also much more. So much more. I was constantly amazed as his story advanced, about how he (or any GI) survived the war and came back to make something of the life our Lord gave to him. He did suffer for many years with PTSD, but he kept moving forward, gained a family of his own, and found a new career as an actor. It was our sorrow to lose him in a plane crash, at an early age (his 40s). I can't offer enough praise about this book, which, is of course, about his life. Thanks to Audie for sharing this with us all.
on January 13, 2014
The book, written by Murphy himself, is very interesting, action packed, and shows the reader the darker side of war. (The darkness of a soldiers mind, when he has given up on living through the war)
Murphy tells the tale of his time during WWII, his missions, the men he fought with, and the thoughts he had through out the war. Never once does he draw attention to himself in a "look at me manner". The missions he was awarded medals for appear as just another day in the life of a soldier, and i had to go online to other places to read about his heroism.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in WWII, Audie Murphy from a personal point, or just the camaraderie of soldiers fighting together in a bleak situation.
One thing I have noticed from most of the books I've read about people awarded the medal of honor, is that they don't seem to dwell on the actions of themselves. They seem to see it as they just doing their jobs, and most feel like they don't understand how they were the ones to survive. This book is no different.
I would have like to have met Mr. Murphy in real life. I think he must have been inspirational, even without the war.
Murphy tells the tale of his time during WWII, his missions, the men he fought with, and the thoughts he had through out the war. Never once does he draw attention to himself in a "look at me manner". The missions he was awarded medals for appear as just another day in the life of a soldier, and i had to go online to other places to read about his heroism.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in WWII, Audie Murphy from a personal point, or just the camaraderie of soldiers fighting together in a bleak situation.
One thing I have noticed from most of the books I've read about people awarded the medal of honor, is that they don't seem to dwell on the actions of themselves. They seem to see it as they just doing their jobs, and most feel like they don't understand how they were the ones to survive. This book is no different.
I would have like to have met Mr. Murphy in real life. I think he must have been inspirational, even without the war.
on June 9, 2011
I just bought the new paperbook edition of this book, I know that I must have read it casually many years ago, likely when I served in the US Army. But now all these years later, with more wisdom, I really could appreciate the real battle experiences portrayed in the book, the misery, the fight to stay alive, this is a great portrayal and thankfully not a military recruiting book, and thankfully not an anti-war book either in my opinion.
I read this book rather fast, two evenings, and I have a real problem reading books that I buy all the way through. I was especially interested in his supposed choice of weapons, seems I have a more vested interest in all things m1 carbine, the nice little rifle that shot the non rifle cartridge ".30 m1 carbine" to be not confused with the M1 Garand. The m1 carbine was given to support personnel and it seems in the book we find out that Audie Murphy had an M1 Carbine alot, likely due to his stature of only five foot six inches tall, or it could likely have been that was due to his ever increasing rank, but he did use the carbine alot. Since I am also the same height, and strangely half of my family came from Texas as well from that same time period, I too would likely have been issued an m1 carbine in ww2, it was a popular weapon with a removeable 15 round box magazine, and soldiers carried more than just one mag. Seems Audie Murphy, not mentioned in the book, actually killed seven snipers with an m1 carbine, though in the book it does mention some work on several snipers with an m1 carbine, to include the day he was shot in the hip and just barely shot the german sniper in time with his carbine when he raised it up with one arm and shot pistol style, of which he was taken to a medic tent for three days before casualties could be evacuated, by that time he formed gangreane in the wound and for a month they pumped him full of penicillin and carved away dead flesh, GASTLY details, he actually returned to combat after that!
You find out in the book that it almost seems his survival for three years of combat was sure luck of the draw, and the acts he performed were nothing anyone else couldn't have performed. The more I read of the book, I feel that there was a fact one can pick up to combat tactics, it seems alot of the guys that got picked off either exposed themselves, or were not in a good position to keep from catching shell fragments from artillery, and oh that is so true supposedly, one must not expose themselves and must take cover, and the parts in the book about keeping his mouth open for explosions is to prevent concussion death/injury, like popping lungs like a ballon instead of squeezing the air out of an open mouth, I learned that in the army.
So yeah, if a young or older person is in the miltary or considering military service, this book could in theory save their life by learning basic combat survival skills.
I guess I will need to read another book or account of the records of how or for what he received all his medals, just for good reading, cause it aint covered in his book, but that is good, cause those who likely seek glory get it posthumously anyway, I mean, seems all CMH awardees in the last ten years got it awarded after death. Its good that his awards and suffering got him a movie career, though by the time he died in a plane accident, his career was in decline and the vietnam war was in full swing(1971), you could say that the cmh and his awards left him dead prematurely, where as he could have become a humble farmer or such and died much later a regular citizen. People should read the book along with seeing the movie, since the movie is a little different, but hey, it's Audie Murphy himself in the movie, a priceless treat never again to likely ever be repeated, soldier to actor, later portraying himself.
I read this book rather fast, two evenings, and I have a real problem reading books that I buy all the way through. I was especially interested in his supposed choice of weapons, seems I have a more vested interest in all things m1 carbine, the nice little rifle that shot the non rifle cartridge ".30 m1 carbine" to be not confused with the M1 Garand. The m1 carbine was given to support personnel and it seems in the book we find out that Audie Murphy had an M1 Carbine alot, likely due to his stature of only five foot six inches tall, or it could likely have been that was due to his ever increasing rank, but he did use the carbine alot. Since I am also the same height, and strangely half of my family came from Texas as well from that same time period, I too would likely have been issued an m1 carbine in ww2, it was a popular weapon with a removeable 15 round box magazine, and soldiers carried more than just one mag. Seems Audie Murphy, not mentioned in the book, actually killed seven snipers with an m1 carbine, though in the book it does mention some work on several snipers with an m1 carbine, to include the day he was shot in the hip and just barely shot the german sniper in time with his carbine when he raised it up with one arm and shot pistol style, of which he was taken to a medic tent for three days before casualties could be evacuated, by that time he formed gangreane in the wound and for a month they pumped him full of penicillin and carved away dead flesh, GASTLY details, he actually returned to combat after that!
You find out in the book that it almost seems his survival for three years of combat was sure luck of the draw, and the acts he performed were nothing anyone else couldn't have performed. The more I read of the book, I feel that there was a fact one can pick up to combat tactics, it seems alot of the guys that got picked off either exposed themselves, or were not in a good position to keep from catching shell fragments from artillery, and oh that is so true supposedly, one must not expose themselves and must take cover, and the parts in the book about keeping his mouth open for explosions is to prevent concussion death/injury, like popping lungs like a ballon instead of squeezing the air out of an open mouth, I learned that in the army.
So yeah, if a young or older person is in the miltary or considering military service, this book could in theory save their life by learning basic combat survival skills.
I guess I will need to read another book or account of the records of how or for what he received all his medals, just for good reading, cause it aint covered in his book, but that is good, cause those who likely seek glory get it posthumously anyway, I mean, seems all CMH awardees in the last ten years got it awarded after death. Its good that his awards and suffering got him a movie career, though by the time he died in a plane accident, his career was in decline and the vietnam war was in full swing(1971), you could say that the cmh and his awards left him dead prematurely, where as he could have become a humble farmer or such and died much later a regular citizen. People should read the book along with seeing the movie, since the movie is a little different, but hey, it's Audie Murphy himself in the movie, a priceless treat never again to likely ever be repeated, soldier to actor, later portraying himself.
on April 19, 2016
Murphy is a guy every American should learn about. Particularly this new bunch if spoiled entitled brats who need a safe place to not be offended by someone who disagrees with them...
on July 22, 2016
This is the true experiences of Audie Murphy at war. Yes, the shy western star of the late 40's, 50's and 60's. As a Vietnam veteran, I can appreciate what he experienced. My father was a WWII veteran (South Pacific, USMC) so I knew that in this war, you were in for the DURATION. No one knew how long that would be. Maybe into the 1950's or until there just weren't anymore men left alive to fight. It may be hard to understand that concept. He truly went through hell. It's a miracle that he lived through it. Lieutenant Murphy does not go beyond the war and the presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor, nor does he mention receiving any of the medals he was bestowed upon for bravery. I regret that he didn't tell of the hell he experienced long after the war. But for this book, I had a hard time putting it down.
