Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 25, 1994 TAG: 9410250065
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Short
Murphy, the son of a sharecropper in Kingston, Texas, joined the Army at the age of 18 and became the most decorated soldier of World War II. He earned 24 medals from the United States, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, as well as three from France and one from Belgium.
On May 28, 1971, he was killed when an airplane in which he was a passenger crashed on the slopes of Brush Mountain. The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected a monument to his memory at the crash site.
There will be a presentation of colors at the site at 3 p.m.
The entrance to the walking trail to the monument is 17 miles from Blacksburg.
Drivers should take Main Street to Mount Tabor Road (Virginia 624) and continue for 12 miles. After passing Virginia 650, turn left onto a gravel road (FS P188.1). At the top of Brush Mountain, turn right and continue for three miles to a parking lot.
The walking trail from that point is 1.5 miles from the parking lot to the monument and back. A shuttle will operate from noon to 4:30 p.m. for those who do not want to walk the round trip.
Following World War II, Murphy became an actor and appeared in more than 40 movies, mainly Westerns. He wrote of his war experiences in ``To Hell and Back,'' and played himself in the 1955 film based on his book.
by CNB