Who was the most decorated WW-II military man ?

[ccheese]

Audie Murphy is reported as the "most decorated combat soldier" of WW-II, but was he the most decorated military man of WW-II ?
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Murphy had at least one of every award the U.S. could offer (33 total), including 3 Purple Hearts and awards from Belgium and France.

However, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, while not a "combat soldier", had a chest full of goodies too. Many were theater awards, just for "being there". And, President Roosevelt did award him the MOH...... God knows what for !!

But... who was the U.S. military's most decorated service member ???

Charles

 

[buffnut453]

Depends how you measure "most decorated". Kiwi Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham has to be up there - he was VC and Bar!

Ooops...just realised you were asking about the most decorated US military man. Well, since this is an international forum I'm going to keep my post and stick up for Capt Upham, an incredibly brave man!

 

[Lucky13]

VC and Bar? Does that mean VC twice!?

That's an impressive, eeerrmmmm....don't know if 'collection' is the right word here guys, help me out!

 

[RabidAlien]

Dang. Had to go look up Mr. Upham. Now, does anybody know of any good books about him?

 

[herman1rg]

Three people have been awarded the VC and Bar, the bar representing a second award of the VC. They are: Noel Chavasse and Arthur Martin-Leake, both doctors in the Royal Army Medical Corps, for rescuing wounded under fire; and New Zealander Charles Upham, an infantryman, for combat actions.

 

[herman1rg]

New Zealand Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg has the distinction of being the only serviceman ever awarded a VC on evidence solely provided by the enemy, for an action in which there were no surviving Allied witnesses. The recommendation was made by the captain of the German U-boat U-468 sunk by Trigg's aircraft.

 

[buffnut453]

VC and Bar means, yes, he was awarded the VC twice...and he survived! According to Wikipedia, he died in 1994.

 

[Njaco]

Would Goering count? Talk about medal-hog......

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Don't forget Idi Amin. Claimed to have fought in WW2, he gave himself the VC!

 

[stona]

Would Goering count? Talk about medal-hog......

Idi Amin

Not helping am I......I'll get my coat.

Steve

Edit. I was beaten to it! Great minds etc.

 

[Lucky13]

Don't forget Idi Amin. Claimed to have fought in WW2, he gave himself the VC!

Are you sure that in his case that VC doesn't mean Vicious C*nt?

 

[ccheese]

When I started this, I was really thinking U.S. service members. However, lets include EVERY service member who fought in WW-II. I think Her Majesty's service gave away VC's like candy. A VC for sinking a U-boat ? Or a MOH for downing five enemy aircraft ? C'mon !!!

Murphy is credited with killing over 280 German soldiers !!! "Dugout Doug" was probably the only recipient of the MOH who really didn't deserve it.

So, who was the most decorated service member of WW-II ??

Edit: According to ask.com (yahoo.com) Audie Murphy was not the most highly decorated. He was the most highly decorated combat service member from WWII. COL Robert Howard is considered the most highly decorated service member ever, if you consider number of awards for valor. General Douglas MacArthur is THE most highly decorated service member of all time for sheer number of awards; valor and meritorious. COL Robert Howard is the only person to be nominated three times for the Medal of Honor.


Charles

 

[stona]

I think Her Majesty's service gave away VC's like candy. A VC for sinking a U-boat ?
Charles

Not in WW2. There's more to the story than just sinking a U-Boat.

Trigg's award was posthumous for a start. A very,very brave man.

An awful lot of WW2 VCs were awarded posthumously (82/182) not good odds.They were certainly not handed out like candy.

Cheers

Steve

 

[buffnut453]

I think Her Majesty's service gave away VC's like candy.

Charles,

Dunno if you were being:

(a) Ironic, or
(b) If you missed a "don't" between the "I" and the "think"

If neither of the above are correct then I find your comment rather offensive. To suggest that the British Commonwealth's highest award for bravery is granted with little merit or justification is, frankly, ridiculous. The US isn't the only country that produces brave men and women! I strongly suggest you read the write-ups for VC winners and then determine whether the medal was awarded "like candy".

 

[fubar57]

I recall reading an article on the VC(can't remember where) and one of the sentences was as Charles wrote but this was during the origins of the medal, South Africa, Crimea etc.. That all changed for later wars.

Geo

 

[stona]

It was awarded for what some would say were political reasons in Victorian times. Notably at Lucknow and famously at Rorke's Drift.
This was certainly not the case by WWI. Posthumous awards were made possible slightly earlier,1907 I think but haven't checked.

Victoria Crosses are the first award at any investiture and it is worn first in an array of medals. VC are also the first post nominal letters taking precedence over all other awards and orders. Even if a Garter Knight won one he'd be a VC first.

Did you know that one American has one? We don't know his name, he is the unknown soldier from WWI.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Lucky13]

Don't know if these numbers are correct but, so far awarded:

Victoria Cross: 1,356
Medal of Honor: 3,476

...and in the short time that the Knights Cross was awarded:

Diamonds: 27
Swords: 160
Oak Leaves: 890
Knight's Cross:7,365

What was the other combatants medals, besides Mannerheim Cross, Hero of the Sovietunion etc...?

 

[Edgar Brooks]

I think Her Majesty's service gave away VC's like candy. A VC for sinking a U-boat ? Or a MOH for downing five enemy aircraft ? C'mon !!!

That has to be one of the most offensive things I've seen in a very long time; over the entire fighting forces of Britain and its Commonwealth, 182 VCs were awarded during WWII, of which 29 went to the RAF. Of those 29, only one was a fighter pilot, and 16 received it posthumously (and that includes the one who only sank a U-boat.) If that's giving them away like candy, no wonder everyone was starving during the war.

 

[Njaco]

There were times during the history of the VC and the MoH where the prestige of the award was lost and they were given 'out like candy'. Sorry, but its the truth. Because no other military decoration was authorized during the Civil War, some seemingly less exceptional and notable actions were recognized by a Medal of Honor during that conflict.

 

[buffnut453]

I will agree that there are some VC and MoH recipients whose actions, at least to our eyes, don't necessarily compare with the actions of other recipients. Equally, there are many who were never recognized despite showing extreme bravery. However, Charles made specific reference to a WWII VC winner and I think we'd all agree that the VC was not given out like candy during that conflict.