[1] The division had landed in Saint-Tropez on the southern coast of France months earlier and was pushing northward towards Germany.

[1] Early on December 16, Company C crossed the Weiss River in the northern Vosges Mountains and established a defensive position atop Hill 512, just south of the village of Kaysersberg.

Descending the vineyard-covered hill along a winding footpath, the group noticed German soldiers in a sunken road, about 150 yards (140 m) away, firing on an American hilltop position.

[1] Creeping forward to a point from which he could see the German unit, about 200 men strong, Murray made a radio call for artillery support.

Not wanting to send his patrol against the much larger German force, he retrieved rifle grenades from his men and returned to his vantage point to begin a single-handed attack on the position.

[2] He arrived home in Wilmington in September to a hero's welcome, but later returned to Europe and served four years of occupation duty.

He and his wife, Anne, lived in Columbia, South Carolina until his death from congestive heart failure on August 12, 2011.

[1] Murray's official Medal of Honor citation reads: For commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into enemy territory.

Descending into a valley beneath hilltop positions held by our troops, he observed a force of 200 Germans pouring deadly mortar, bazooka, machinegun, and small arms fire into an American battalion occupying the crest of the ridge.

Though suffering and bleeding profusely, he refused to return to the rear until he had chosen the spot for the block and had seen his men correctly deployed.

By his single-handed attack on an overwhelming force and by his intrepid and heroic fighting, 1st Lt. Murray stopped a counterattack, established an advance position against formidable odds, and provided an inspiring example for the men of his command.