Which two men were the most highly decorated military veterans of WWII?

Audie Murphy is often remembered as the "most decorated soldier of WWII"; yet Holland, MI, hometown of Matt Urban, is quick to claim that when Urban received a belated Medal of Honor from President Carter he became the most decorated soldier of WWII.

Besides any claim, in terms of sheer numbers, Audie Murphy had 29 combat awards and unit citations, Matt Urban had 28. Also, Audie Murphy received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), second only to the Medal of Honor (MOH), Matt Urban did not. Both men received two Silver Stars and the Legion of Merit. Matt received 3 Bronze Stars to Murphy's 2, and 7 Purple Hearts to Murphy's 3. So, Matt Urban in terms of sheer numbers, exceeded Murphy's count of these awards by 4 Purple Hearts and 1 Bronze Star. But, Audie Murphy has the right to lay claim to all four of the Army's top awards for valor, Matt Urban to only 3 of those four.

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66 Comments

Jack A. Brookshire Sr.

As a Navy Vet, I salute them both, God Bless them. Amen !!

joneal

I'm certain if both American"heros" we're alive today, they would honor each other with humility, dignity, and respect towards the many fallen heros that received no accolades for paying the ultimate sacrifice. God bless both men for having ultimate courage under tremendous hardships. I read some about Audie's childhood/early adulthood and makes me admire him more. Obviously, Audie, Matt, and the millions of American soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors that spent 4-5 years of their teenage and young adulthood in one of the most brutal wars in modern history. This generation of men/women sacrificed so much more than generations that have followed. We, Americans, owe everything to this generation. God bless these 2 men and the aforementioned millions for there sacrifice.

Laurie Johnson Gonzalez

It would be nice if all the countries who participated in WWII would post their most decorated hero, then we could see if Audy Murphy is really at the top or just in the USA. I agree with everyone complaining that the question should have specified Amercan. I also disagree with the quiz club yahoos who put down all Americans because some of the authors write their questions poorly. Just because some authors make their questions USA-centric doesn't mean we are all like that.

Rob Bowman

Which two US forces men is the question - while only US teams compete for the World Series in baseball, there were a lot of equally honourable men and women that served on the battlefield from countries all over the planet

Rob Farr

Yes, it is about the most highly decorated US servicemen ... but they still deserve the recognition and honour regardless of which country they fought for.

James Lawrence

Didn't say which country so it's a uncle Sam only question

Ned Mitchell

Does this mean that no other country in the world has recognized their soldiers as extensively as the USA??? Your question " Which two men were the most highly decorated military veterans of WWII? " does not say USA so what about the rest of the world. There are a lot more countries involved in WWII than the USA. It is amazing that you are so arrogant to assume that the globe begins and ends with the USA.

Margaret Myburgh

Are we talking globally or just in the US, which, with all due respect is only a small part of the world. There are a lot of other countries out there, dude!

Chris Braid

Most decorated Americans!!!

GreedyJoel

I believe Neville Brand was the third most decorated US Army veteran in WW2. He played Al Capone in “The Untouchables” and the dumb Texas Ranger in “Laredo”.

docluci

Easy answer, as Audie was a frequently spoken name that I remember from my childhood. I knew he was highly decorated and since he only appeared in one pair, my guess was correct to go with him.

Greigg Graf

I understand everybody's apprehension about the USA awarding Audie Murphy, I'd like to know more about Matt's accomplishments. But I don't know who can even compare to what Audie Murphy did by himself! He captured and contain more enemy soldiers and the rest of them put together!

silrem

Audie Murphy gave away the answer.

Cheryl McMeekin

Easy peasy

Carol Focht Cheney

Audie Murphy gave it away for me.

Peter Robertson

America hands out medals like confetti,so it's hard to know who would be.I am not blaming them as good soldiers deserve recognition.We were much to miserly.Charles Upham received two Victoria Crosses but they didn't hand out a bagful of others to him,in fact to win a gallantry medal was very difficult,a lot of luck in who saw you do it!I say hand them a medal for all they did and good on them