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America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

December 5, 2019

27:33

America's Hidden History

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America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

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- [Narrator] Modern historians have revised,
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rewritten and even deleted entire chapters
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of American history.
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So what are we missing?
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What happened to the history
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that did not make the books?
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Join historian David Barton, Tim Barton,
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and special guests as they uncover the facts
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some historians do not want you to know.
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This is America's Hidden History.
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(dramatic music)
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(dramatic music)
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(dramatic music)
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- We are outside Chattanooga, Tennessee,
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at the Chickamauga Battlefield,
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and this is where John Clem became kind of famous
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for surviving, shooting bad guys,
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maybe there is some details to the story,
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but John Clems, the guy we are going to focus on,
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and a lot of his exploits happened right here.
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- And this is a really strategic point
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in the overall Civil War battle.
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The Northern forces wanted to get in the south,
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Southern forces wanted to get in the north,
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that's why General Lee from the South
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led the troops all the way into Pennsylvania, Gettysburg,
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but coming the other direction
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you had General Rosecrans who wants to get down to Atlanta.
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And so in doing so, he comes through middle Tennessee,
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and its got this campaign at Talahama,
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he wins that, goes to Murphysboro.
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He now gets to Chattanooga,
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and in Chattanooga the confederate general Braxton Braggs,
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he leaves town because there is too many forces coming,
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so as he's moving south,
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he comes into this area here,
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as he gets to this area,
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he gets reinforced by about 20.000 Confederate troops,
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and says, "We got to go back around to Chattanooga.
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President Lincoln wanted Chattanooga really bad
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because it's a railway center,
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you send trains out from everywhere,
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its got a navigable river,
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they produced iron there.
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It's a real defensible position.
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If the Union can get Chattanooga,
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they can hold it,
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and from Chattanooga they can launch attacks into Atlanta.
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So right here General Braggs turns around
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and heads back up north toward Chattanooga
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and that's where he meets General Rosecrans
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coming this direction.
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Right here you have 65.000 Confederate soldiers
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take on 60.000 Union soldiers,
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slight advantage to Confederacy,
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but that's the background of this battle.
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- Yeah, a lot of blood, a lot of casualties
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from this battle.
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It was recognized to be a Confederate win,
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although both sides had significant losses.
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- This actually is the second bloodiest battle
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in the Civil War.
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You have Gettysburg first and then battle of Chickamauga.
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So on the Confederate side there's about 20.000 casualties,
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on the Union side there is about 16.000 casualties.
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So the Confederates had more casualties,
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just consider that they actually won this battle.
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- And this is considered the last major victory
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for the Confederates during the Civil War,
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but lets back up to the hero
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that we are going to talk about, John Clem.
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The Civil War has already been going on,
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1861 he is nine years old,
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sitting at the dinner table with his father,
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his now-stepmom because his mother
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actually had died previously,
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and he has got a younger brother and younger sister,
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and as a nine-year-old he tells his dad,
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"I want to go fight, I want to do something"
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and his dad rebukes him and says,
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"They don't need children,
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"you just sit there and eat your dinner."
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Well, he does not want to take no for an answer,
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and coming up very soon is Sunday,
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and their family went to church
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and John was in charge of taking his brother and sister
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and they were all going together to Sunday school.
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So he takes his brother sister to Sunday school, he says,
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"You all hang out here, it is a little early,
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"it is going to start soon.
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"I am going to go for a swim."
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So he leaves to go for a swim and never comes back.
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Now for the family this was a little traumatic.
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If he said he is going swimming, and he hasn't come back,
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the logical thought is he probably drowned.
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Dad is so distraught, he actually has the canal drained,
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looking for the body of his son.
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They can't find him anywhere.
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They presume he is dead.
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It was more than two years before they saw him again.
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Now what happened.
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He jumped a train.
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He rides the train going up,
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and he meets some of the Union soldiers.
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Guys from Ohio, he says,
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"I want to be a part of the unit.
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"I want to go with you."
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The guys from Ohio look and go,
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"Okay, we cannot take children.
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"This is actually, would be a crime for us
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"to enlist you as a nine-year-old.
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"We can't do it.",
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but he was very persistent.
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He finally found the Michigan 22nd and said,
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"I'll go with you guys."
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and they were not enlist him,
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but they did not drive him away.
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So as a nine-year-old, he follows them.
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Finds a drum, and becomes a drummer for them.
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He explains he went through all the hardships,
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endured all the cold, the lack of food,
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the marches, standing guard in the rain.
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At the battle of Shiloh,
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there's accounts where,
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as a drummer he actually had a fragment shell come
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and blow up the drama that he was drumming,
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and from that moment he became known as Johnny Shiloh,
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which was, actually I think Disney
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did a movie about Johnny Shiloh,
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but that's just the beginning of his story.
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(dramatic music)
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- Where we are now is where
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the Battle of Chickamauga took place.
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And this is where John Clem really did
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come to fame a little bit.
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Part of his fame came as the union line broke
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and actually they were retreating
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in the midst of battle.
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John Clem's, the brigade that he is part of,
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the do begin retreating as well.
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Now John Clem is a very small boy,
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and at this time he actually is 12 years old.
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He's been in a couple years,
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but he is still noted to be very small boy.
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In fact, he explained that they took one of the muskets
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and they cut the barrel off
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so that he would have something to right size
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for him to hold and shoot as a young boy.
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Well, as he, and actually sister was interviewed later,
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they both explain, as a young boy,
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he just couldn't keep up with the rest of the soldiers
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while they were retreating,
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so he falls behind in the retreat.
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As he falls behind there is a officer,
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a Confederate officer rides up, saber drawn,
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cussing at him, coming to get him.
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He turned around and he just had his gun held up,
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said he didn't even aim,
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he cocked and he pulled the trigger,
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and he shot the officer out of the saddle,
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and they fired a volley
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at the Union forces as they're escaping.
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Well, he was kind of smart in this regard.
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He thought, "I better just pretend like I'm dead."
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He stayed there pretending to be dead until that night.
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That night he got up,
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snuck through the woods
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and caught up with his brigade at Chattanooga.
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At this point he tells them what happened
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and when he caught up,
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his hat had three bullet holes in it,
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and so he catches up, he tells them what he's done,
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and they begin praising him
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that he shot this Confederate officer.
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This 12-year-old survived.
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Word got to General Thomas and General Rosecrans,
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and when they found out they said,
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"Okay, you bring this boy to us."
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They promoted him to Sergeant for what he had done.
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- Hey, whoa, wait.
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A 12-year-old Sergeant?
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Can you imagine 25-year-old guys
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following a 12-year old Sarge - Come on guys.
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Mickey Mouse, settle down.
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That really would be super bizarre
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and you know, who knows how they used him,
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because actually, one of the things he talks about,
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it was just a few days, even weeks later,
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he was part of a caravan,
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a train as they arr moving goods,
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and they were actually attacked by Confederates.
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He becomes a prisoner of war as a 12-year-old.
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He gets taken to a Confederate general,
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and they used him
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as show and tell as they go to Confederate places,
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and towns and cities, and say,
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"Look how desperate the Yankees must be,
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"they are using children to fight us.
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They have even promoted this one."
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They use him really on display, if you will.
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- Propaganda. It is Southern Propaganda.
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- It really was, right?
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Trying to help, make themselves look good in this regard.
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Well, about two month later,
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they worked out a prisoner of war exchange,
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So he gets out, as he comes back,
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he goes back to his brigade.
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He continues on, fights and many battles.
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1864 is when he is finally discharged.
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He is only a Sergeant at this point,
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but he wants to continue his education.
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So he finishes out of high school
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and then decides he wants to go to West Point.
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He applies for West Point and to get into West Point
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you actually have to take an academic test.
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Apparently there was some rigor involved.
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- I would think at nine years old,
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you have not been much schooled at that point,
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because you left to join the Army.
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Your academics probably going to be fairly low at--
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- He did go back to school.
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He did go back and finish his schooling,
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for whatever that might have been,
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but he did not have the academics
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he needed to get into West Point.
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He then wrote and said
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it was a shame that someone who was a Civil War veteran,
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who was an honored veteran, as he explained himself.
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He said that someone in their old age
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cannot even get into West Point.
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He was 20 years old,
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and he was saying that that was his old age.
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That he could not get into West Point.
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- Well, he has bee 11 years around battles,
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That is more than half his life.
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- Well, he points out, though,
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during the Civil War,
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he became friends with a general Grant.
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He said, "Who at that time was occupying the White House."
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He said, "So I went to see my friend General Grant,
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"and explained to him my problem."
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Well, General Grant promoted him to lieutenant,
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helped get him a commission.
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So he does continue on his education,
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and this is where for, really the rest of his life,
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so to speak, at least military-wise,
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he continues to serve in the military.
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The other encounters and engagements going forth,
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he is in the military all the way up to World War I.
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- Yeah, he went through the Spanish-American War.
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He was a leading officer there.
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He was engaged in a lot of Army stuff
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for the next 30, 40 years.
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- He really was.
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1915, at 65 years old.
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There was a federal law that said,
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I'm looking because he can help me on this one.
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- Mandatory retirement.
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You hit 65, you are out, you are done.
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He is 65, and he is still an officer in the Army.
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- So at this time, on his retirement,
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he is actually promoted to Brigadier General.
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He is a pretty famous guy.
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A lot of stories are being told.
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They are probably not all true,
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but there being told about how amazing he was.
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All the exploits he did.
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Congress goes even further,
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and they promote him to Major General.
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- Wow, that is a two star general.
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- Which is where they want to honor him.
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So John Clem, really,
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his life was involved in the military,
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but it starts all the way back
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when he was a nine-year-old boy.
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He runs away from home.
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He actually did get to go home at one point
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during the Civil War,
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after he was a prisoner of war,
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and he was exchanged.
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He did get to go home for a week.
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This was the first time his family found out he was alive.
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His father was so excited to see him
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that there was probably no discipline involved,
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at least his sister said,
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"No, my father didn't beat him from running away.
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"We were just so glad he was alive",
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but they did talk about how he was very thin
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because for those two months that he was a prisoner of war,
00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:31.170
he really did not get a lot of nutrition,
00:10:31.170 --> 00:10:33.120
did not get a lot of food.
00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:34.170
- The southern side was very noted
00:10:34.170 --> 00:10:36.160
for being very rough on prisoners of war,
00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:38.110
whether it was Andersonville or other camps.
00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:40.120
The pictures there look like
00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:41.260
pictures you would see in the Holocaust in World War II.
00:10:41.260 --> 00:10:44.180
They are emaciated, bone sticking out everywhere,
00:10:44.180 --> 00:10:46.260
and so that would be very accurate.
00:10:46.260 --> 00:10:48.280
You said he was small.
00:10:48.280 --> 00:10:49.260
The are so many pictures of him
00:10:49.260 --> 00:10:51.110
because the notoriety that came here on this battlefield,
00:10:51.110 --> 00:10:54.000
and you look at the pictures
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.070
and he is always a tiny, tiny little guy.
00:10:55.070 --> 00:10:58.000
- At his retirement as Brigadier General,
00:10:59.060 --> 00:11:00.160
he was only 5 feet and 105 pounds.
00:11:00.160 --> 00:11:03.240
He never a big guy,
00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:05.090
but he was a noted warrior, a noted hero.
00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:08.010
And he is part of America's hidden history.
00:11:08.010 --> 00:11:10.100
(jazz music)
00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.210
- John Clem is one my personal favorite stories,
00:11:17.050 --> 00:11:19.290
basically all-time.
00:11:19.290 --> 00:11:21.180
We actually have a number of awesome artifacts.
00:11:21.180 --> 00:11:25.020
What I have right here are two pictures from the 1860s.
00:11:25.020 --> 00:11:28.250
These are taken during the war
00:11:28.250 --> 00:11:30.090
whenever somebody distinguish themselves,
00:11:30.090 --> 00:11:32.000
and they became heroes,
00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:33.100
they would go in, take their picture,
00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:34.270
and then they would put them on these cards
00:11:34.270 --> 00:11:36.150
to spread out around the country,
00:11:36.150 --> 00:11:38.070
and even around the world.
00:11:38.070 --> 00:11:39.220
On the back of this one it has actually got his story,
00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:41.220
which is very interesting.
00:11:41.220 --> 00:11:43.120
On the back of this one right here
00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:44.200
it has got his signature.
00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:46.160
He signed this John Clem himself,
00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:49.130
but also, I have this little book.
00:11:49.130 --> 00:11:52.030
And this is actually what is called,
00:11:52.030 --> 00:11:54.230
'The Soldier's Handbook'.
00:11:54.230 --> 00:11:57.030
This one, of all people, was passed out to John Clem.
00:11:57.030 --> 00:12:01.060
He takes this and uses it to practice writing his name.
00:12:01.060 --> 00:12:04.210
He actually changes the spelling of his name
00:12:04.210 --> 00:12:06.230
during this time.
00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:08.080
If I jump back over this picture,
00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.180
you can see how short he is.
00:12:10.180 --> 00:12:12.160
He is holding a musket.
00:12:12.160 --> 00:12:13.220
I have a musket right here.
00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:16.170
If I were to lean it back exactly how it is in the photo,
00:12:16.170 --> 00:12:20.070
we see that John Glenn is about
00:12:20.070 --> 00:12:22.210
as tall as I am sitting down.
00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:25.080
We have a little guy doing big things.
00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:29.050
(dramatic music)
00:12:29.050 --> 00:12:31.280
- We are in Greenville, Texas,
00:13:00.250 --> 00:13:02.010
at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum,
00:13:02.010 --> 00:13:04.020
and we are here to tell the story of Audi Murphy.
00:13:04.020 --> 00:13:06.050
Now Audi Murphy is a name
00:13:06.050 --> 00:13:07.210
that a lot of Americans probably don't know,
00:13:07.210 --> 00:13:10.010
and they certainly don't know much of his story,
00:13:10.010 --> 00:13:11.240
but Audi Murphy is a military and American hero.
00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:15.150
Considered the most decorated soldier from World War II,
00:13:15.150 --> 00:13:18.060
one of the most decorated in military history.
00:13:18.060 --> 00:13:21.000
He actually grew up in this area of Texas.
00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.220
Doing a lot of work on a cotton farm.
00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:25.060
In fact, he reportedly was five years old,
00:13:25.060 --> 00:13:27.120
he was already out working in the field,
00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:29.240
and as he explained,
00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:30.240
this was just to survive.
00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.150
At that time, if families were not working together,
00:13:32.150 --> 00:13:34.210
you might not make it,
00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:36.060
but actually his father got fed up and had enough.
00:13:36.060 --> 00:13:39.010
When he was a teenager the father abandoned the family.
00:13:39.010 --> 00:13:41.180
This was devastating for Audie and the family,
00:13:41.180 --> 00:13:43.110
as you might imagine.
00:13:43.110 --> 00:13:44.180
The following year, then his mother dies,
00:13:44.180 --> 00:13:46.190
and so Audie is trying to figure out,
00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:48.100
"What are we going to do? "How is the family going to work?"
00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:50.150
His siblings were sent to live in different homes,
00:13:50.150 --> 00:13:53.050
and as a young man Audie was trying to think,
00:13:53.050 --> 00:13:55.060
"What am I going to do?"
00:13:55.060 --> 00:13:56.270
Audie had a couple of uncles who fought in World War I.
00:13:56.270 --> 00:13:59.070
They would tell the stories from World War I.
00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:02.010
Audie always thought,
00:14:02.010 --> 00:14:03.080
"I would like to be in the military."
00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:05.030
In December of 1941 is when
00:14:05.030 --> 00:14:06.210
the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
00:14:06.210 --> 00:14:08.130
America finally declares
00:14:08.130 --> 00:14:09.210
that we will enter into World War II.
00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:11.240
It was at this moment Audie thought,
00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:13.140
"I want to get involved."
00:14:13.140 --> 00:14:14.250
(dramatic music)
00:14:14.250 --> 00:14:17.180
- When Audie decides he wants to join the military,
00:14:22.020 --> 00:14:24.000
this is actually the place he comes and signs up.
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.020
This is a post office,
00:14:26.020 --> 00:14:27.210
but it also served as a recruiting station
00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:30.000
during World War II.
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.230
Audie ends up with the Army,
00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:33.090
but that is not where he wants to be.
00:14:33.090 --> 00:14:34.220
He goes and signs up with the marines,
00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.130
but the marines look at him and go,
00:14:36.130 --> 00:14:37.240
"We do not think you are marine material",
00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:39.180
and their defense?
00:14:39.180 --> 00:14:40.250
He was five foot five and roughly 110 pounds.
00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:43.150
They thought,
00:14:43.150 --> 00:14:44.290
"You are probably not going to make in the war."
00:14:44.290 --> 00:14:47.060
The army gave him a shot,
00:14:47.060 --> 00:14:48.110
but they still weren't sure about him.
00:14:48.110 --> 00:14:49.240
In fact, they encouraged, he should be a cook,
00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.070
maybe a baker.
00:14:52.070 --> 00:14:53.140
Do something where you will not see combat,
00:14:53.140 --> 00:14:55.030
because you are probably going to die.
00:14:55.030 --> 00:14:56.180
Audie did not want to be a cook.
00:14:56.180 --> 00:14:58.070
He wanted to serve in combat.
00:14:58.070 --> 00:14:59.100
He put up a huge protest.
00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:00.290
They finally allowed him,
00:15:00.290 --> 00:15:02.070
"Okay, come train with normal guys."
00:15:02.070 --> 00:15:04.020
When finally got a gun in his hand.
00:15:04.020 --> 00:15:05.190
Now they recognize this kid has some potential
00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:07.220
because he was a very good shot.
00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.040
He might actually be a good soldier.
00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:10.190
He was a great soldier, as we know from his story.
00:15:10.190 --> 00:15:14.020
The unit he is with, they are sent to deploy.
00:15:14.020 --> 00:15:17.010
They are on their way to North Africa.
00:15:17.010 --> 00:15:19.030
By the time they get there,
00:15:19.030 --> 00:15:20.080
most of that has been kind of settled.
00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.250
So they are sent from North Africa on to Sicily.
00:15:22.250 --> 00:15:24.220
Sicily is where he really starts to see action,
00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:27.020
and this is where immediately
00:15:27.020 --> 00:15:28.200
he sets himself apart from the other troops.
00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.180
The commanding officers noticed.
00:15:30.180 --> 00:15:32.020
From the very beginning, he begins receiving commendations,
00:15:32.020 --> 00:15:34.140
and awards and metals by his bravery.
00:15:34.140 --> 00:15:37.020
So this little kid, out of the field,
00:15:37.020 --> 00:15:39.010
is recognizes as an amazing soldier.
00:15:39.010 --> 00:15:41.080
Officers begin trying to promote him.
00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:43.090
Audie fights the promotions.
00:15:43.090 --> 00:15:44.240
He says, "I am really not smart enough.
00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.090
"I do not have the proper education to be an officer."
00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:48.260
He also was afraid that if he was promoted,
00:15:48.260 --> 00:15:51.050
he would have to leave his unit,
00:15:51.050 --> 00:15:52.210
and these are the men the he loves and cares about.
00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:53.290
"I do not want to leave them."
00:15:53.290 --> 00:15:55.210
He only would accept promotion
00:15:55.210 --> 00:15:57.210
if he was allowed to stay with his men,
00:15:57.210 --> 00:15:59.290
which they allowed him to do.
00:15:59.290 --> 00:16:01.230
As the war continued, he continues fighting.
00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:03.270
He received bronze stars and silver stars,
00:16:03.270 --> 00:16:05.290
and so many medals,
00:16:05.290 --> 00:16:07.140
but there's two stories
00:16:07.140 --> 00:16:08.220
that stand out above all the others.
00:16:08.220 --> 00:16:10.210
(dramatic music)
00:16:10.210 --> 00:16:13.120
- Even though Audi distinguished himself
00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:20.200
pretty much every battle he was a part of,
00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:22.220
there certainly are two that stand out in my mind.
00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:25.070
In fact, one of them is
00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:27.020
what the statue beside me is depicting.
00:16:27.020 --> 00:16:29.060
There was a battle in southern France,
00:16:29.060 --> 00:16:30.240
where there were several German machine gun nests.
00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.140
In fact, the group that he was with,
00:16:33.140 --> 00:16:34.260
they were pinned down,
00:16:34.260 --> 00:16:36.090
but Audie decides,
00:16:36.090 --> 00:16:38.040
"I think I can take some of these machine gun nests out."
00:16:38.040 --> 00:16:41.200
He advances up the hill where there are machine gun nests,
00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.220
and begins taking out machine gun nest ,
00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:46.210
after machine gun nest.
00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:47.280
His best friend apparently decides
00:16:47.280 --> 00:16:50.150
he does not want to miss out on the action.
00:16:50.150 --> 00:16:52.050
Audie explains as he looks beside him,
00:16:52.050 --> 00:16:53.270
and his best friend is now beside him,
00:16:53.270 --> 00:16:56.150
as they are going up.
00:16:56.150 --> 00:16:58.020
Audie and his best friend continue up the hill,
00:16:58.020 --> 00:17:00.070
taking out machine gun nests.
00:17:00.070 --> 00:17:01.240
The Germans indicated they want to surrender.
00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.160
Audie says, "I was a little suspicious about this."
00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.020
but Audie's friend thought,
00:17:07.020 --> 00:17:08.100
"We got it, lets go."
00:17:08.100 --> 00:17:10.040
His friend stood up, when he stood up,
00:17:10.040 --> 00:17:12.090
the Germans shot him down.
00:17:12.090 --> 00:17:14.010
Audie was so enraged, he was so furious.
00:17:14.010 --> 00:17:16.150
With no thought for his safety,
00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:18.030
he stood up and he charged this machine gun nest.
00:17:18.030 --> 00:17:20.240
Throwing grenades in,
00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:22.100
and killed the guys that had just killed his best friend.
00:17:22.100 --> 00:17:24.120
When he gets into that machine gun nest,
00:17:24.120 --> 00:17:26.080
he picks up the machine gun
00:17:26.080 --> 00:17:28.000
the Germans had been using,
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.180
continues on shooting everybody
00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:32.200
that comes against him.
00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:34.050
Ultimately clear the whole hill, virtually by himself.
00:17:34.050 --> 00:17:37.250
As his men saw him do this, they were so impressed
00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:39.230
with what they had just seen him do.
00:17:39.230 --> 00:17:41.250
This when Audie receives
00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:43.020
what is considered the second highest award
00:17:43.020 --> 00:17:44.220
you can receive for valor.
00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:45.200
The Distinguished Service Cross,
00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:47.080
and this is where again, Audie continue to show himself
00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:50.090
as an incredible warrior soldier on the field,
00:17:50.090 --> 00:17:53.060
but his most special defining moment of World War II,
00:17:53.060 --> 00:17:56.110
has not even happened yet.
00:17:56.110 --> 00:17:57.280
(dramatic music)
00:17:57.280 --> 00:18:00.220
- Certainly one of Audie's most memorable moments
00:18:06.100 --> 00:18:08.040
is what led to him getting the Medal of Honor.
00:18:08.040 --> 00:18:10.230
Although Audie has distinguished himself,
00:18:10.230 --> 00:18:13.180
through world War II,
00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:14.250
wins almost every medal you can win for valor,
00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:17.000
or every distinguishment you can win,
00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:18.230
certainly what set him apart,
00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:20.100
was a moment that happened in January of 1945.
00:18:20.100 --> 00:18:23.030
In this moment he is assigned,
00:18:23.030 --> 00:18:24.130
roughly two dozen men.
00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:26.090
They are given a section of land they are supposed to hold.
00:18:26.090 --> 00:18:28.140
This was the border of France and Germany.
00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:30.290
As they are to hold this area, hold this territory,
00:18:30.290 --> 00:18:34.050
they have two tank destroyers and roughly two dozen men.
00:18:34.050 --> 00:18:38.130
There is a group of Germans coming up against them,
00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:40.230
and it is estimated it was at least 200 troops,
00:18:40.230 --> 00:18:43.200
as well as six tanks
00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.290
that came up against him and his men.
00:18:44.290 --> 00:18:46.220
Audie tells his men to retreat back and find safety,
00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:49.220
but retreating is not really something Audie does,
00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:52.230
or thinks about, so Audie decides,
00:18:52.230 --> 00:18:54.260
"No, we are not going to retreat.
00:18:54.260 --> 00:18:56.250
"Actually we are going to stand and fight,
00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:58.150
"but by we, I mean I."
00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:00.220
Audie decides he is going to stay and fight.
00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:03.020
As the Germans have advanced,
00:19:03.020 --> 00:19:04.100
one of the things that happens,
00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:05.170
is one of the two tank destroyers
00:19:05.170 --> 00:19:07.010
has gone off in a ditch,
00:19:07.010 --> 00:19:08.110
the other one is hit and catches on fire.
00:19:08.110 --> 00:19:12.040
His men have retreated,
00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:13.150
he is now by himself, he has his rifle,
00:19:13.150 --> 00:19:15.210
comes up with his carbine, and unloads.
00:19:15.210 --> 00:19:17.290
Once he is out of ammo, he does not want to stop fighting,
00:19:17.290 --> 00:19:20.050
so he looks around,
00:19:20.050 --> 00:19:21.140
and sees the one tank destroyer that was hit,
00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:23.260
that I snow on fire, there is a machine gun on top,
00:19:23.260 --> 00:19:26.200
and it looks like it still works,
00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:28.050
so he goes and climbs on this tank destroyer,
00:19:28.050 --> 00:19:30.180
that I son fire, gets on the machine gun,
00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:33.120
and opens up against the troops that are advancing.
00:19:33.120 --> 00:19:36.240
More than 200 hundred troops advancing, six tanks advancing.
00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.100
Apparently he has got a walkie-talkie,
00:19:40.100 --> 00:19:42.030
because he starts calling in artillery strikes.
00:19:42.030 --> 00:19:44.200
The Germans realize, "This is not going very well.
00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.120
"we do not want to be here anymore"
00:19:47.120 --> 00:19:49.060
The Germans retreat.
00:19:49.060 --> 00:19:51.060
They abandon the area.
00:19:51.060 --> 00:19:53.080
He realizes, "Okay, we have held the land."
00:19:53.080 --> 00:19:56.070
He jumps off this artillery destroyer,
00:19:56.070 --> 00:19:57.290
that is on fire,
00:19:57.290 --> 00:19:59.140
the tank destroyer then blows up as he is walking away.
00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.260
His life is barely spared
00:20:01.260 --> 00:20:03.180
from this exploding tank destroyer.
00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:05.180
He goes back to where his men are,
00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:07.140
calls his men to come back and join him,
00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:09.070
His men come and they secure the area
00:20:09.070 --> 00:20:11.170
that he held by himself.
00:20:11.170 --> 00:20:13.190
Because of his heroism and bravery,
00:20:13.190 --> 00:20:15.030
he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
00:20:15.030 --> 00:20:16.290
This, again, was just one of many of the awards
00:20:16.290 --> 00:20:19.000
he received during World War II.
00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:20.180
Audi Murphy continued to be the humble guy he was.
00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:23.220
Even though he is one of the most decorated
00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:25.190
guys in military history.
00:20:25.190 --> 00:20:27.110
(jazz music)
00:20:27.110 --> 00:20:29.230
- Audie Murphy lived such an incredible life.
00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:35.190
He is one of the few people
00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:37.090
who's ever been able to act in a movie about himself.
00:20:37.090 --> 00:20:40.170
This is actually his autobiography 'To Hell and Back'.
00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:43.070
Just a gripping tale of the realities of war.
00:20:43.070 --> 00:20:46.130
What I have in front of me are some of our artifacts.
00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:48.170
This right here in an M1 Grand.
00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:50.270
This is what he would have used during World War II.
00:20:50.270 --> 00:20:54.140
It was the Americans main battle rifle.
00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:56.200
It was such a technological innovation
00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:58.230
over basically any other main battle rifle
00:20:58.230 --> 00:21:01.050
of any other major player in the war,
00:21:01.050 --> 00:21:02.250
both on allies and on the axis.
00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:05.030
This is what it shot.
00:21:05.030 --> 00:21:06.110
This is a eight round clip of 30 odd six.
00:21:06.110 --> 00:21:08.070
These are some of the amazing artifacts
00:21:08.070 --> 00:21:09.210
that we have here
00:21:09.210 --> 00:21:11.050
that Audie Murphy himself would have been familiar with.
00:21:11.050 --> 00:21:13.120
(dramatic music)
00:21:13.120 --> 00:21:15.120
- When Audie arrives back in America,
00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:16.210
he arrives to fanfare, a very warm reception
00:21:16.210 --> 00:21:19.110
because the news of his heroics in the battlefield
00:21:19.110 --> 00:21:22.000
had reached the American people.
00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.090
As he is trying to find his way,
00:21:23.090 --> 00:21:24.230
there is an actor in Hollywood, James Cagney,
00:21:24.230 --> 00:21:26.200
who was a very famous actor at the time,
00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:28.230
who says, "Audie, you need to come out to Hollywood,
00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:31.050
"come act with us."
00:21:31.050 --> 00:21:32.210
Audie gets the invite to Hollywood.
00:21:32.210 --> 00:21:35.010
However, when he gets there, it takes him a little time
00:21:35.010 --> 00:21:37.140
to find his feet,
00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:38.280
but he does develop to be a pretty decent actor.
00:21:38.280 --> 00:21:41.230
In fact, he had a 20 year career in Hollywood,
00:21:41.230 --> 00:21:43.160
with more than 40 movies made.
00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:45.120
One of his more famous movies is
00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:47.130
'The Red Badge of Courage'.
00:21:47.130 --> 00:21:48.280
It was a Civil War epic you can still see it today
00:21:48.280 --> 00:21:51.110
about a young soldier trying to figure out
00:21:51.110 --> 00:21:53.140
if he is going to be brave enough to actually survive,
00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:56.010
but his more famous film is over on this side
00:21:56.010 --> 00:21:59.010
called 'To Hell and Back'.
00:21:59.010 --> 00:22:00.200
To Hell and Back was a movie
00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.010
based on Audie's autobiography by the same title,
00:22:02.010 --> 00:22:05.010
that really was a retelling of his heroics,
00:22:05.010 --> 00:22:07.170
and the events he went through World War II.
00:22:07.170 --> 00:22:09.260
The book was so successful
00:22:09.260 --> 00:22:11.120
that Universal decided they want to make a movie,
00:22:11.120 --> 00:22:13.150
and as they were looking for a lead actor,
00:22:13.150 --> 00:22:15.010
it was suggested that Audie
00:22:15.010 --> 00:22:16.150
should just star his own movie.
00:22:16.150 --> 00:22:18.120
Audie was very hesitant and even resistant to this.
00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:21.080
Maybe it is because he didn't
00:22:21.080 --> 00:22:22.180
want people to think he was being prideful
00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:24.100
and promoting his own story.
00:22:24.100 --> 00:22:25.230
Maybe because he didn't have to relive
00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:28.150
all of those moments that he had gone through.
00:22:28.150 --> 00:22:30.280
Maybe it is a combination of both,
00:22:30.280 --> 00:22:32.180
but finally he was talked into it.
00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:34.120
He did star in this movie,
00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:35.220
and this was one of the successful movies
00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:37.140
Universal ever did for decades.
00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:40.030
This was really his last
00:22:40.030 --> 00:22:42.040
successful movie on that level.
00:22:42.040 --> 00:22:44.120
As he is still trying to struggle
00:22:44.120 --> 00:22:46.090
in this acting career,
00:22:46.090 --> 00:22:47.100
he is doing movies.
00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:48.080
He realizes,
00:22:48.080 --> 00:22:49.230
"This isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life."
00:22:49.230 --> 00:22:51.280
So he begins looking for something else to do.
00:22:51.280 --> 00:22:54.020
(dramatic music)
00:22:54.020 --> 00:22:56.250
- We are in Washington DC at the World War II Memorial.
00:23:11.260 --> 00:23:13.270
We are a couple of miles away from here
00:23:13.270 --> 00:23:15.090
is Arlington National Cemetery,
00:23:15.090 --> 00:23:17.010
which is where Audie Murphy is buried.
00:23:17.010 --> 00:23:19.000
After his acting career
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:20.160
he decides he wants to get involved in business.
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.130
Although he has a really tough time in business,
00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:25.120
and honestly just has a really tough time
00:23:25.120 --> 00:23:27.030
for the rest of his life,
00:23:27.030 --> 00:23:28.230
he is haunted by the memories
00:23:28.230 --> 00:23:30.100
of what happened World War II.
00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:31.270
He said he could not sleep at night,
00:23:31.270 --> 00:23:33.100
had nightmares almost every night.
00:23:33.100 --> 00:23:34.250
He could not sleep unless he had
00:23:34.250 --> 00:23:35.270
a loaded gun under his pillow.
00:23:35.270 --> 00:23:37.100
It just brought him comfort.
00:23:37.100 --> 00:23:38.190
I guess probably imagining, remembering
00:23:38.190 --> 00:23:40.200
those scenarios where he had to fight
00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:42.140
for his life, for his friends life.
00:23:42.140 --> 00:23:43.240
- With all that, it is the guilt that,
00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:45.120
"It should have been me.
00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:46.180
"Why my buddies die, and I did not,
00:23:46.180 --> 00:23:48.190
"They were better than me."
00:23:48.190 --> 00:23:50.210
In trying to kill out that pain
00:23:50.210 --> 00:23:52.040
and trying to kill out that trauma,
00:23:52.040 --> 00:23:54.110
he goes to alcohol, he goes to drugs,
00:23:54.110 --> 00:23:56.150
he goes to all sorts of stuff,
00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:58.060
trying to drown out that noise
00:23:58.060 --> 00:23:59.200
and it just does not work.
00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.180
- It haunts him for the rest of his life.
00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:03.100
Because of it he has a very difficult time in business.
00:24:03.100 --> 00:24:07.010
It goes from one failed venture to the next.
00:24:07.010 --> 00:24:09.020
Ends up bankrupt and in 1971,
00:24:09.020 --> 00:24:12.060
he was with several men,
00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:13.140
they were going on a business venture
00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:14.280
trying for him to rebuild his life financially,
00:24:14.280 --> 00:24:17.150
and they had a plane crash and all of them died.
00:24:17.150 --> 00:24:20.220
What should've been a moment where he was celebrated
00:24:20.220 --> 00:24:22.150
as one of the greatest military heroes in American history,
00:24:22.150 --> 00:24:24.250
which he was,
00:24:24.250 --> 00:24:26.090
his death largely went uncovered and reported on.
00:24:26.090 --> 00:24:28.220
This was a time in the Vietnam-era.
00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.190
American military just was not appreciated the same way.
00:24:30.190 --> 00:24:34.020
When you have one of the greatest heroes
00:24:34.020 --> 00:24:35.160
from military history who has passed,
00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:37.200
a lot Americans did not even know.
00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:39.010
They did not know his story.
00:24:39.010 --> 00:24:40.010
He wasn't talked about,
00:24:40.010 --> 00:24:41.080
but today we do take time
00:24:41.080 --> 00:24:42.160
and we remember one of these forgotten heroes
00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.010
from American history.
00:24:45.010 --> 00:24:46.110
(calm music)
00:24:46.110 --> 00:24:48.240
- Looking at John Clem and Audie Murphy.
00:24:52.260 --> 00:24:54.210
Both are military heroes,
00:24:54.210 --> 00:24:56.210
different generations and
00:24:56.210 --> 00:24:57.280
very, very, very different stories.
00:24:57.280 --> 00:25:00.110
The book contributed a lot.
00:25:00.110 --> 00:25:01.250
Audie Murphy, Medal of Honor.
00:25:01.250 --> 00:25:03.180
They didn't spend his whole life in military.
00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:05.150
John Clem did.
00:25:05.150 --> 00:25:06.250
But both of them,
00:25:06.250 --> 00:25:08.010
when I think of what they have done
00:25:08.010 --> 00:25:09.200
for America, the sacrifices they made.
00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.230
I am reminded of,
00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.020
Bible verses always stood out to me,
00:25:14.020 --> 00:25:15.180
and Psalm 144:1 says,
00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:18.110
"The Lord has trained my hands for battle,
00:25:18.110 --> 00:25:20.210
"my fingers for war"
00:25:20.210 --> 00:25:22.150
I have always considered that,
00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:24.010
there are guys who are gifted
00:25:24.010 --> 00:25:25.150
by God to be soldiers.
00:25:25.150 --> 00:25:28.010
The rest of us benefit from that.
00:25:28.010 --> 00:25:29.270
- One of the things that strikes me,
00:25:29.270 --> 00:25:31.030
even understanding that military gifting.
00:25:31.030 --> 00:25:33.220
John Clem, one of things he said was,
00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:35.240
if he was ever in charge of military and war came out,
00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:38.100
he would enlist more kids.
00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:39.280
Because kids are able to overcome fear
00:25:39.280 --> 00:25:43.110
with a reckless courage
00:25:43.110 --> 00:25:45.030
that more often than not,
00:25:45.030 --> 00:25:46.130
reckless courage is able to overcome the enemy.
00:25:46.130 --> 00:25:49.010
And I think this is what is interesting,
00:25:49.010 --> 00:25:50.090
even from the biblical perspective,
00:25:50.090 --> 00:25:51.170
where Paul writes Timothy, and says,
00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:53.130
"Do not let someone look down on you
00:25:53.130 --> 00:25:54.280
"because you are young, but set an example for them."
00:25:54.280 --> 00:25:56.150
Well, Audie Murphy was incredibly young,
00:25:56.150 --> 00:25:59.020
John Clem was really young.
00:25:59.020 --> 00:26:00.180
When they make a name for themselves,
00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:02.040
they are, in today's terms, they would be children.
00:26:02.040 --> 00:26:05.060
They were not even adults in our modern sense
00:26:05.060 --> 00:26:08.150
of the idea of adults. - It is not how old you are,
00:26:08.150 --> 00:26:10.240
it is how mature you are, it is what you are willing to do,
00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.000
it is what you are capable of doing.
00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:14.130
These are guys that really did break the mold
00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:16.240
that we are trying to put on people today,
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.190
it would be good to break that mold,
00:26:18.190 --> 00:26:20.070
look at then as individuals,
00:26:20.070 --> 00:26:21.150
and encourage them to flourish in that area.
00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:23.240
(dramatic music)
00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:26.170
We hope you are enjoying TBN's
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00:26:34.150 --> 00:26:36.060
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00:26:36.060 --> 00:26:38.120
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America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

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America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

America's Hidden History | John Clem and Audie Murphy

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