Doug Hampton Details Ensign Affair in 'Nightline' Interview

Yes, it's unfortunate.

As a Christian Conservative, it pains me that there are so many instances of Moral Turpitude among our representatives in Washington.

I understand that the C Street house where so many Republicans have been outed for immorality is being abandoned.

I guess what appalls me the most is that our Republican Representatives seem fond of portraying themselves as being more moral than Democrats.

In the years since this claim was first made in the 1970's, it has proven to be heart wrenchingly false.

In fact, of the 4 leading Republicans for president in 2008, 3 of them were adulterers - which no one objected to.

Boy oh boy the GOP going down, this joker was a Prez possibility so a WHOLE bunch of elected Gop'ers were down with his BS.

peal off the scab of..hush money, conspiracy, extortion, blackmail, security clearance violations, etc,etc.

slow methodical investigation made PUBLIC starting sept 1, 2010.

there goes your midterm election hopes.......out the window.

Dave Phillips
6:23PM Nov 24th 2009

Audie Murphy was NOT the most decorated soldier of WWII.

According to the Total Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, VA, Matt Urban of Michigan was awarded 29 medals, as many as Audie Murphy, for his service in WW2.Urban's Medal of Honor recommendation was somehow lost in the shuffle, so he did not receive his MOH until the late 70s. His other medals included: 7 Purple Hearts, Legion of Merit, Croix de Guerre with a Silver Star, Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster. Perhaps if Urban received the MOH when he should have, he would be as famous as Audie Murphy.

Although COL David Hackworth earned over 100 medals, he was embarrassed to wear them all. General Douglas MacArthur is considered by many to be America's most decorated soldier.

He was the only soldier to be a general officer in three different wars, WWI,WWII and Korea. He was the youngest Chief of Staff and the only American General to become Field Marshal of a foreign country, the Philipines. He was nominated for 3 Medals of Honor and awarded one. His records at West Point were not broken until Pete Dawkins exceeded them in the late 50s. Fifty years of service gave him an extensive collection of recognition.

The question is who is the most HIGHLY decorated, not the most decorated. The automatic answer of Audie Murphy, or even the lesser known Matt Urban really can not due justice to the question. So many lesser known but equal or greater names are out there to be explored. A few who spring to mind are Eugene Fluckey, MOH and 4 awards of the Navy Cross, Samuel Dealey, MOH and 4 awards of the Navy Cross. Everyone knows that 5 awards of this caliber is a lot more impressive than 29 medals which count purple hearts, campaign medals and good conduct medals, in other words 27 of the medals rank below the decorations for valor.

ANSWER What are the criteria for "most HIGHLY" decorated? Major General Smedley Butler of USMC was awarded not one, but two Congressional Medals of Honor. Has anyone else been awared the Medal of Honor twice or more?

ANSWER Actually, 19 soldiers have been awarded the medal of honor twice


Real answer is Captain Joe Ronnie Hooper, one Medal of Honor, 2 Silver stars, 6 Bronze stars and 8 Purple hearts. Look him up.

ANSWER COL Robert L Howard
Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross (2 awards)
Silver Star, Bronze Star for Valor, 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)
Purple Heart 7th Oak Leaf Cluster (8 awards)
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)
Air Medal for Valor, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster (3 awards)
Army Commendation Medal for Valor, 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 award) there are more, but these are just a few. I would say that he has got them all beat. Look at the fact that he was recommended for the medal of honor on three separate occasions but they were downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross due to the secret nature of his missions at that time. As for MG Smedley Butler not to take away from him because he is a damn fine American and a hero. The US Congress in 1917 ruled that no one could receive more than one Medal of honor so later Soldiers and Marines may have done things to win them but they could only get one. Its like comparing apples to oranges its just not the same. So far I have looked them all up and I think that if you are talking highest decorations for valor then COL Howard has them all hands down. If any one can show me someone with more then please do. The other amazing fact is that Col Howard is still alive and visits Soldiers in current War Zones that is very impressive to me. He is a true warrior and hero.

ANSWER: Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller

As was stated above it is very difficult to truly say who is the most decorated soldier of all time. Standards change over time, and with each branch having their own standards we can never say who truly is THE MOST DECORATED.

Now having said that we must take a serious look a Gen. Chesty Puller. He was the recipient of the nations 2nd highest award six times. Speculation was always that if he had been more politically correct he would have surely been awarded the MoH. Along with 5 Navy Crosses and the Distinguished Service Cross he also has the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Legion of Merit awards along with 43 other awards.

In response to jrotced02:

Please know that my attempt here is NOT to denigrate the military achievements of Colonel Urban or to insult his family. There's no doubt that in having the Medal of Honor, Colonel Urban was a hero, and, indeed, America should remember all her heroes and the price they paid. There are so many recipients more decorated and higher decorated than Colonel Urban. He simply does not belong in the classifications his proponents or the media assign him. He is NOT the “Most Decorated Soldier of WWII”, nor is he the “Most Decorated in American History” — or any variation of the above.

Audie is quantitatively and qualitatively more highly decorated than Colonel Matt Urban, who has 29 awards; his service medals and their appropriate devices are NOT for bravery. Audie has 34 awards, including the Distinguished Service Cross, our second highest medal for valor, which Colonel Urban lacks. Audie also has the higher French award: the Legion of Honor (Chevalier). Audie’s Marksman and Expert Badges are not military awards, per se; they are qualification badges, and therefore not included in the tally.

Here are Audie’s OFFICAL AWARDS:

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL AND THE ADJUTANT GENERAL CENTER
WASINGTON, D.C. 20314
7SEP 1979

REPLY TO
ATTENTION OF:



SUBJECT: MAJ AUDIE MURPHY - Authorization for Awards and Decoration

LIST OF AWARDS



Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster
Good Conduct Medal
Distinguished Unit Emblem with First Oak Leaf Cluster
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One
Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine
Campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault
landing at Sicily and Southern France)
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar
Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar
French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre
French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier
French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Medal of Liberated France
Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm


There simply is no cutoff point in assigning titles or classifications; it is a personal matter. The Department of the Army refuses to participate in such debates. Army spokeswoman Martha Rudd commented that, “The military does not rank soldiers by numbers or types of medals awarded.”

Carol Cepregi with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society states, “It is not possible to say who is the nation's most decorated soldier,” and adds that “medals are of varying weight and significance and are awarded under differing circumstances.”

The people who decide such unofficial titles are researchers and proponents of a particular individual, whereby inadequate research is oftentimes conducted and conclusions unjustly made.

Someone recently mentioned to me that there would NEVER be another Audie Murphy and I believe this to be partially correct.

Perhaps when Audie received his Medal of Honor on June 2, 1945, he was the most decorated soldier of WWII. I cannot confirm that this is still a true statement today, and I take the position that he was one of the most - and highest-decorated of WWII. I know of no WWII infantryman more decorated and there is definitely none more celebrated.

World War II was a supported war. America knew she must prevent expansion of the Nazi empire. She also realized that she must take action to further prevent massacre and tyranny, such as Germany’s resolve to eradication the Jewish people. And tactically, America had to stop the Nazi overthrow of England. Thus, through the carnage of war, Audie Murphy, the hero, was born.

Vietnam and Korea were not popular wars, but there were many heroes, far more - and highly - decorated than Audie, who came forth and displayed their mettle. But they lacked the notoriety, fame, and news coverage that accompanied Audie’s heroic deeds, and followed him throughout the remainder of his life. In that sense, there will never be another Audie Murphy.

Colonel Urban does not even come close to the following individuals:

The one individual who is the "Highest and Most" from the Vietnam War is Colonel Robert Lewis Howard. Colonel Howard has, including the Medal of Honor and other valor and non-valor awards, plus all the appropriate devices, a total of 89 awards. This listing includes 2 Distinguished Service Crosses; 4 Legions of Merit and 8 Purple Hearts.

Colonel George “Bud” Day, USAF (Ret.)(POW) Vietnam, has 79 medals and devices, which includes the Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross (same as Army DSC), and the Distinguished Service Medal, which takes precedence over the Silver Star (which he also has).

Also noteworthy is Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley USN, who, in addition to the Medal of Honor has THREE Distinguished Service Crosses and THREE Distinguished Service Medals.

I must also mention Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI, who has the Medal of Honor and SEVEN Distinguished Service Crosses. Originally he had eight, but one was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1930. He has the quality but not the quantity.

Regulations now restrict and allow for only one Medal of Honor. If one excludes the 19 DOUBLE Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil through World War I, then I concur the title of "Most and Highest Decorated Soldier in American History" belongs to General Douglas MacArthur. He has the most medaled chest of any combatant in American history with a total of 114 awards. This includes the Medal of Honor, 3 Distinguished Service Crosses and 7 Silver Stars. Yes, many of his awards were because he was General of The Army but our top THREE valor awards cannot be ignored.

Oftentimes, the layperson assumes "Most" means "Highest" and this is not correct. Highest, as the word coveys, is a qualitative reference. With regards to US military decorations, this includes the Congressional Medal of Honor. The use of "Most" is a quantitative reference. In this respect, excluding General MacArthur, Colonel David Hackworth, USA (Ret.) has the numbers. Counting all his medals, valor and non-valor, and all the appropriate devices, he has 89! However, he lacks the Medal of Honor.

There are those who attempt to control titles and conclusions by altering the criteria.
For example, limiting it to the top three valor awards (Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star); the time frame (i.e., WWII, Korea, Vietnam); branch of service; or deciding whether foreign awards should be included in the criteria, and then, what values they equate to in the American awards. Part of the difficulty in limiting it to a specific war is the fact than many recipients served in two or more wars. A researcher would need a valid database and a computer to separate the time frames. All of these factors can alter conclusions.

Doug Sterner, Director of the Hall of Heroes Museum in Pueblo, Colorado, stated, "Some individuals may have many rows or ribbons or numerous medals, all of which may be quite low in the PYRAMID OF HONOR. A quantity of medals does not necessarily indicate someone who has seen combat, but may in fact simply denote an individual with many years of service, and many overseas deployments. However, that the sight of multiple rows of medals are generally perceived by the public, who may not recognize the ribbons as being ordinary decorations presented for good conduct or service, and think they are seeing a great hero."
Lastly, I might add that Colonel Urban personally lobbied Congress for several years to upgrade his DSC to the CMOH. Although I doubt not that the award was more than derserving, I personally have a problem with someone lobbying to upgrade their own medal. That said, I have no problem with a group or concerned citizens lobbying on someone's behalf.

That being said, when one compares Audie Murphy to Matt Urban, Audie continues to reign as the Most-Decorated Soldier of World War II.

Respectfully,
Dave Phillips
Statement in part coutesy of:

Stan Smith,
President
Audie Murphy National Fan Club

Audie was indeed the Most Decorated Soldier of WW2.
Your statement makes a lot of sense and Urban did as you say lobby for his own Medal.
Perhaps the ROTC guy should get his facts straight, and consider Murphy's legacy in the full context of the matter.