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THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

COLLIN COUNTY is proud to claim two recipients of the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL of HONOR as native sons:
AUDIE MURPHY of FARMERSVILLE in WORLD WAR II,
and RUSSELL STEINDAM of PLANO in VIETNAM

AUDIE MURPHY RUSSELL STEINDAM

 THE CONGRESSIONAL
MEDAL OF HONOR
2nd Lt. AUDIE L. MURPHY
 

January 26, 1945
Second Lieutenant Murphy, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. It’s crew withdrew to the woods. Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy: he personally killed or wounded about fifty. Lt. Murphy’s indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy’s objective.

For more about Audie Murphy
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The President of the United States
 in the name of Congress
 takes pride in presenting the
MEDAL OF HONOR
posthumously to
RUSSELL ALBERT STEINDAM
 1st Lieutenant, United States Army

for service as set forth in the following citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, 1st Lt. Steindam, Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, while serving as a platoon leader, led members of his platoon on a night ambush operation. On the way to the ambush site, suspected enemy movement was detected on one flank and the platoon’s temporary position was subjected to intense small arms and automatic weapons fire as well as a fusillade of hand and rocket-propelled grenades. After the initial barrage, 1st Lt. Steindam ordered fire placed on the enemy position and the wounded men to be moved to a shallow bomb crater. As he directed the return fire against the enemy from exposed position, a fragmentation grenade was thrown into the site occupied by his command group. Instantly realizing the extreme gravity of the situation, 1st Lt. Steindam shouted a warning to alert his fellow soldiers in the immediate vicinity. Then, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Steindam deliberately threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the full and fatal force of the explosion as it detonated. By his gallant action and self-sacrifice, he was able to save the lives of the nearby members of his command group. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by 1st Lt. Steindam was an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the U. S. Army.

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