To Hell and Back

:01:48

Armies, for the most part,

:01:50

are made up of men drawn
from simple and peaceful lives.

:01:53

In time of war,
they suddenly find themselves...

:01:55

living under conditions
of violence,

:01:58

requiring new rules of conduct
that are in direct contrast...

:02:01

to the conditions
they lived under as civilians.

:02:04

They learn to accept this
and to perform their duties
as fighting men.

:02:09

But some begin to perform,
as military language puts it,

:02:13

"at the risk of life,
above and beyond
the call of duty."

:02:17

Military histories are filled
with incredible examples
of individual courage...

:02:22

that are only made more
incredible by the fact that
they were everyday events.

:02:28

As Senior Staff Officer
at Supreme Headquarters
in Worid War II,

:02:32

it was my privilege to know
the records of many such men.

:02:36

The story you are
about to see is theirs:

:02:39

The true story
of the foot soldier,

:02:41

as seen through the eyes
of one of them, Audie L. Murphy.

:02:45

He received
every decoration for valor
that his country could award,

:02:49

and he became
the most decorated soldier
for combat action...

:02:53

in the military history
of the United States.

:02:56

In 1937, in northeast Texas,
at the age of 12,