My apologies that both my blogging and bloghopping had been quite erratic these past few days due to a rather busy work schedule. I had just completed a one-week assignment in Greenville, Texas and I'm scheduled to fly home first thing Friday morning.
Greenville, Texas is a rather sleepy rural town about 50 miles east of Dallas. Except for a few businesses, the town is made up mostly of homes that sit on huge tracts of land and numerous cow farms. The town has a small airfield, Majors Field, that is owned and run by one of the companies operating in the area.
Aside from being in a major cotton producing area in the United States, Greenville's other claim to fame would be the fact that it was in this town where Audie Murphy (1924-1971) signed up to join the US Army in 1942. To those who are into military history, Audie Murphy is known as America's most decorated soldier in World War II. He was born near Greenville but his actual birthplace is in dispute. Some historians say that he was born in the town of Celeste but a couple of people at the office I visited, both long-time residents of the area, said that he was actually born in the neighboring town of Kingston.
The son of poor sharecroppers, Audie had a very rough childhood. He was the sixth of 12 children. His father abandoned their family when he was 12 while his mother died when he was about 16 years old. Prior to signing up for the Army, he had to send some younger siblings to foster homes to ensure their proper care and survival.
Contrary to some biographical acocunts, he never really lied about his age when he signed up for the Army at 18 in 1942. In the battlefield, he showed exemplary courage in his three years of active service and as a result, ended up garnering 33 awards and decorations, among them the Medal of Honor. He joined the army in 1942 as a private and ended his military career in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
To Filipinos, he became known and popular when he starred in his autobiographical film To Hell and Back which was released in 1955. The movie was based on the book of the same title and my father, like many teenage boys of his generation, saw the movie when it came out in Manila. In fact, I learned of Audie Murphy through my father when as a kid, I had entertained thoughts and ambitions of joining the Philippine Military Academy after high school.
Although he eventually became a Hollywood star and had quite a number of War and Western movies to his credit, Audie Murphy's story was not all bright and happy. Like a lot of young men who got exposed to violent and brutal combat situations then and since, he had also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental problem that was also known at the time as "battle fatigue". For the rest of his life, he suffered from recurring nightmares, insomnia and depression. He even reportedly kept a gun under his pillow to possibly ward off enemies that came to him in his dreams.
His life came to an abrupt and sad end in 1971 when he died in a plane crash in Virginia while on a business trip. Although Hollywood glorified his exploits as a war hero, his lifelong mental problems also showed that he also counted as one of war's many victims.
As for yours truly, although my dream of becoming a soldier faded long before I entered college, my interest in military history and in its related areas remain. I have always maintained the highest respect for the common soldier for his/her willingness to put his/her life on the line to defend our way of life. It needs to be said that a lot of these people often come from poor families. It's quite ironic then that the people who have been willing to pay the highest price to defend our freedoms and democratic ideals come from families who hardly benefit from those materially.
Thus, in spite of the scandals we often hear about in the upper echelons of the Philippine military establishment, let us set aside our cynicism for a while and pay homage to the lowly enlisted man who continues to serve and be loyal to his country in spite of all its problems, broken promises and imperfections.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Hometown Hero
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23 responses:
my lolo joined the USAFE during the war. he died before i was even born. my father didn't talk much about him because just like any kid whose father was a soldier, they were left to the care of relatives and neighbors (my father was orphaned at an early age). the only memory i have of my lolo is the portrait of him and my step-lola mounted on the wall of the old house in the province.
great story, panaderos.
My grandfather's younger brother was an ROTC guerilla during the Japanese occupation. He contracted malaria in the process. A lot of people who fought as guerillas were common townsfolk who loved their country enough to be willing to sacrifice for the country.
Heh, good old tiny Audie, his lack of height belied his inner courage and strength under fire from Nazi machineguns.
By the way, Audie Murphy wasn't the only American war hero to join the roster of Hollywood actors after the war. Perennial big screen bad guy Neville Brand, was the second most decorated ww2 vet. But unlike Audie, he was often cast as the baddie due to his craggy looks. Kumbaga, di pang matinee idol... :-D
Have a great weekend, pards.
Oops, correction, Brand wasn't the second most decorated. I should have written, one the most decorated heroes of WW2 vets.
I too have the utmost respect for our soldiers. My grandpas from both side of my family were soldiers one was even a 2nd lieutenant who served in Guam. Unfortunately I cannot bring myself to hold a gun. :) Everytime I see one I am only too aware of what it's made for.
Rudy,
That's true. Quite a number of Hollywood celebrities served their country during the Second World War.
Lee Marvin served with the US Marines during World War 2. Rod Serling, the writer and developer of the Twilight Zone series was part of the US liberating forces in the Philippines. Rock Hudson was with the US Naval Forces and was stationed in Leyte during the liberation of the Philippines.
Jimmy Stewart served as a bomber pilot in Europe and flew in more than a hundred bombing missions. He ended his service as Captain yata.
Alam mo who was conspicuously absent in all these? Si John Wayne. He refused to serve and volunteer during the war. He got chided for refusing to do so for quite a number of years.
Fence,
I salute both of your grandfathers for their service to the country. I hope that they got due recognition from our government for their years of service.
Heroes' lives are often like that, for all the good things they give their motherlands, to the extent of their lives, they on the otherhand suffer the scars of struggles, like the mental sickness of Lt.Murphy.
There's always a price for greatness and patriotism.
Major Tom,
So true and yet so sad that things have to be that way, right? Life can really be quite unfair sometimes.
welcome back pards! dream mo pala ang maging sundalo. pero diyan na lang sa US, wag na sa pinas. makukunsumi ka lang sa mga nakaupo. hehehe.
In my past, I was never fascinated by war and history. In high school, I was actually an ROTC officer, but I joined and endured not because I was fascinated but it was more of a power trip.
My outlook changed somewhere along the way, in between watching CNN and PBS I guess, and many of these stories have really become more interesting to me.
It really shows you that the military is not just an establishment. It's made of all these individuals with their own stories to tell. Even if we only get to hear a few of them, it's good enough that we have an awareness.
I grew up listening to stories about World War II. My lolo also fought the Japanese as a guerilla soldier during WW II. And my father had this thick Reader's Digest condensed book of World War II true stories. Stories like "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Battle of the Bulge" were our bedtime stories as kids. I remember an uncle telling us about "To Hell and Back".
“No matter how crooked, how weak the [next] president is…as long as the army is strong, honest, and free from politics, the nation will stand. The army has always been the backbone of all nations, barring none in the world.”
~ Gen. Vicente Lim, WW II hero and the 1st Filipino graduate of West Point.
Pards, you forgot to include the matinee idol of the 30s and 40s, si Tyrone Power. Peyborit ng lolo ko yan, hehe. Anyways, it's true, those you mentioned have all served in the US military during WW2 but save for Lee Marvin (and possibly, Serling), none of them have actually faced an enemy under fire like Murphy and Brand. A lot of them had cushy jobs far from the front. Their being there were mostly Hollywood propaganda for the war effort.
even by playing war games, these could even get into our brains and in our dreams.
my grandfather is also a war veteran under the USAFFE, but I don't see him affected by the war.
was here.
wala atang cbox. hehe.
RJ,
It was a dream when I was a kid. Hindi na ngayon. :)
panaderos, that's interesting. i never heard of him and thanks to this post. what makes it intriguing is that he even became a star.
i can't imagine lacson starring in "anak ni baby ama part2". hehehe... kidding aside.
MegaMom,
One truly feels for these soldiers once we learn of the brutally harsh conditions they went through. A lot of them bear physical and psychological scars. They shed tears for lost comrades and suffer recurring nightmares from traumatic experiences out on the field.
Luna,
I saw a Tyrone Power movie one time on cable here in the US. The movie was called "The Long Gray Line" and the story was set in West Point in early part of the 20th Century. Anyway, there was a graduation scene where graduates were being called onto the stage to receive their diplomas. There was one Asian looking graduate that was called and you know what the graduate's name was? "Vicente Lim of the Philippine Islands". :)
Luna,
Btw, I love that quote from Gen. Lim you posted. It is true at this very point, it is only the Philippine Military who is holding the country together. Ill-equipped and plagued by problems such as corruption in the higher ranks and rogue military adventurists, the Philippine Military still deserves a lot of credit for still managing to keep the country together in the face of all the challenges and problems.
Rudy,
Rod Serling was part of the US 6th Army that liberated Manila from the Japanese. He was wounded in the battle to drive the Japanese troops that were holed out at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. This is probably the reason why years later, a few Twilight Zone episodes about World War 2 were set in the Philippines.
I agree that some Hollywood stars never saw combat like Clark Gable and Ronald Reagan. Their participation was limited to acting on propaganda films in support of the US war effort.
Ceblogger,
That's true to a certain extent.
The Dong,
Hahaha They'll probably do a movie about Lacson someday. The only thing is his character may not end up as the hero. :D
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