I think it's debatable. Maj. Murphy received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit, and 3 Purple Hearts. Lt. Col. Matt Urban was awarded the Medal of Honor, 2 Silver Stars, 3 Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit, and 7 Purple Hearts. So Lt. Col. Urban received 1 more Bronze Star and 4 more Purple Hearts than Maj. Murphy, but Murphy was awarded the second highest military decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross, and Urban did not.
Then there's Colonel Robert L. Howard. As a Green Beret in Vietnam, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, 3 Legions of Merit, 4 Bronze Stars, and a record eight Purple Hearts.
Eddie Rickenbacker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross 7 times in addition to the Medal of Honor.
Major General Smedley D. Butler earned the Medal of Honor twice becomming one of only 19 men to achieve this honor. He was also awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal which is equal to the Medal of Honor because at the time officers were not authorized the Medal of Honor. Maj. Gen. Butler is the closest any man has ever come to being awarded the Medal of Honor three times.
My conclusion: they are all true American heroes.
I digress!
Matt Urban is not the most decorated soldier of WW2. Urban did not receive the French Legion of Honor or the American Distinguished Service Cross. Please know that my attempt here is NOT to denigrate the military achievements of Colonel Urban or to insult his family. There's no doubt that in having the Medal of Honor, Colonel Urban was a hero, and, indeed, America should remember all her heroes and the price they paid. There are so many recipients more decorated and higher decorated than Colonel Urban. He simply does not belong in the classifications his proponents or the media assign him. He is NOT the “Most Decorated Soldier of WWII”, nor is he the “Most Decorated in American History” — or any variation of the above.
Audie is quantitatively and qualitatively more highly decorated than Colonel Matt Urban, who has 29 awards; his service medals and their appropriate devices are NOT for bravery. Audie has 34 awards, including the Distinguished Service Cross, our second highest medal for valor, which Colonel Urban lacks. Audie also has the higher French award: the Legion of Honor (Chevalier). Audie’s Marksman and Expert Badges are not military awards, per se; they are qualification badges, and therefore not included in the tally.
Here are Audie’s OFFICAL AWARDS:
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL AND THE ADJUTANT GENERAL CENTER WASINGTON, D.C. 20314 7SEP 1979
REPLY TO ATTENTION OF:
SUBJECT: MAJ AUDIE MURPHY - Authorization for Awards and Decoration
LIST OF AWARDS
Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster Good Conduct Medal Distinguished Unit Emblem with First Oak Leaf Cluster American Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine Campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp Armed Forces Reserve Medal Combat Infantryman Badge Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star French Croix de Guerre with Palm Medal of Liberated France Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm
There simply is no cutoff point in assigning titles or classifications; it is a personal matter. The Department of the Army refuses to participate in such debates. Army spokeswoman Martha Rudd commented that, “The military does not rank soldiers by numbers or types of medals awarded.”
Carol Cepregi with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society states, “It is not possible to say who is the nation's most decorated soldier,” and adds that “medals are of varying weight and significance and are awarded under differing circumstances.”
The people who decide such unofficial titles are researchers and proponents of a particular individual, whereby inadequate research is oftentimes conducted and conclusions unjustly made.
Someone recently mentioned to me that there would NEVER be another Audie Murphy and I believe this to be correct.
When Audie Murphy received his Medal of Honor on June 2, 1945, he was the most decorated soldier of WWII. I cannot confirm that this is still a true statement today, and I take the position that he was one of the most - and highest-decorated of WWII. I know of no WWII infantryman more decorated and there is definitely none more celebrated.
World War II was a supported war. America knew she must prevent expansion of the Nazi empire. She also realized that she must take action to further prevent massacre and tyranny, such as Germany’s resolve to eradication the Jewish people. And tactically, America had to stop the Nazi overthrow of England. Thus, through the carnage of war, Audie Murphy, the hero, was born.
Vietnam and Korea were not popular wars, but there were many heroes, far more - and highly - decorated than Audie, who came forth and displayed their mettle. But they lacked the notoriety, fame, and news coverage that accompanied Audie’s heroic deeds, and followed him throughout the remainder of his life. In that sense, there will never be another Audie Murphy.
Colonel Urban does not even come close to the following individuals:
The one individual who is the "Highest and Most" from the Vietnam War is Colonel Robert Lewis Howard. Colonel Howard has, including the Medal of Honor and other valor and non-valor awards, plus all the appropriate devices, a total of 89 awards. This listing includes 2 Distinguished Service Crosses; 4 Legions of Merit and 8 Purple Hearts.
Colonel George “Bud” Day, USAF (Ret.)(POW) Vietnam, has 79 medals and devices, which includes the Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross (same as Army DSC), and the Distinguished Service Medal, which takes precedence over the Silver Star (which he also has).
Also noteworthy is Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley USN, who, in addition to the Medal of Honor has THREE Distinguished Service Crosses and THREE Distinguished Service Medals.
I must also mention Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI, who has the Medal of Honor and SEVEN Distinguished Service Crosses. Originally he had eight, but one was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1930. He has the quality but not the quantity.
Regulations now restrict and allow for only one Medal of Honor. If one excludes the 19 DOUBLE Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil through World War I, then the title of "Most and Highest Decorated Soldier in American History" belongs to General Douglas MacArthur. He has the most medaled chest of any combatant in American history with a total of 114 awards. This includes the Medal of Honor, 3 Distinguished Service Crosses and 7 Silver Stars. Yes, many of his awards were because he was General of The Army but our top THREE valor awards cannot be ignored.
Oftentimes, the layperson assumes "Most" means "Highest" and this is not correct. Highest, as the word coveys, is a qualitative reference. With regards to US military decorations, this includes the Congressional Medal of Honor. The use of "Most" is a quantitative reference. In this respect, excluding General MacArthur, Colonel David Hackworth, USA (Ret.) has the numbers. Counting all his medals, valor and non-valor, and all the appropriate devices, he has 89! However, he lacks the Medal of Honor.
There are those who attempt to control titles and conclusions by altering the criteria. For example, limiting it to the top three valor awards (Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star); the time frame (i.e., WWII, Korea, Vietnam); branch of service; or deciding whether foreign awards should be included in the criteria, and then, what values they equate to in the American awards. Part of the difficulty in limiting it to a specific war is the fact than many recipients served in two or more wars. A researcher would need a valid database and a computer to separate the time frames. All of these factors can alter conclusions.
Doug Sterner, Director of the Hall of Heroes Museum in Pueblo, Colorado, stated, "Some individuals may have many rows or ribbons or numerous medals, all of which may be quite low in the PYRAMID OF HONOR. A quantity of medals does not necessarily indicate someone who has seen combat, but may in fact simply denote an individual with many years of service, and many overseas deployments. However, that the sight of multiple rows of medals are generally perceived by the public, who may not recognize the ribbons as being ordinary decorations presented for good conduct or service, and think they are seeing a great hero."
Finally I might add that Murphy never bragged of his exploits and did not like the term "Most Decorated Soldier." By contrast Urban lobbied heavily for his belated Medal of Honor, and made sure that everyone knew that he had earned it.
That being said, when one compares Audie Murphy to Matt Urban, Audie continues to reign as the Most-Decorated Soldier of World War II.
