Enough of the evil one… it is a time for heroes… so let me begin with the man who had quite an impact on my life when I saw the movie “To Hell and Back” in 1955.
Once I watched it, I finally understood what I had been feeling from December 7, 1941 until V-J Day… for those 5 years, all I wanted to do was get old enough to enlist in the Marines and help defend our country against the Japanese invaders… Let me digress for a moment to explain V-J Day, since so many people I have met during the past 30 years had no idea what I was referring to when I mentioned “V-J Day”…
“The U.S. Army Center of Military History recognizes V-J Day as Sept. 2, 1945 – the day on which Japan formally signed surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. A little after 9 a.m. that day, Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government and a tearful Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu signed on behalf of the armed forces. On the Allied side, Sup. Cmdr. Douglas MacArthur signed on behalf of the United Nations. Ten signatures and 20 minutes later, the war was officially over.”
Audie Murphy was 10 years older than me on that ‘day of infamy’ … his story is an amazing story of a young man who desperately wanted to serve his country but was too small, underweight and under age…. here is a link that is worth the read…
Audie Murphy became one of the most decorated soldiers of WWII… his memoirs were made into the movie “To Hell and Back”… Murphy played himself in the movie… here is a link about the movie.
Audie Murphy was a hero to me…. I will be sketching more of them…
here is my sketch of Audie Murphy …
(definition of hero: a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character)
