''To Hell and Back'' is

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

's 1949

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

memoir, detailing the events that led him to receive the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

and also to become one of the most decorated

infantrymen Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

of the war. Although only Murphy's name appears on the book cover, it was a collaboration with writer David "Spec" McClure. After securing a publishing contract in 1947, Murphy and McClure worked on the book through 1948 in Murphy's Hollywood apartment. Murphy did write some of the prose himself, but most of it was in "as told to" style, with the writing left to McClure. They traveled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1948 where Murphy was presented with the French Legion of Honor and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

with Palm from the French government. While in France, Murphy received permission to visit the battle sites. The two men retraced 1,500 miles of battlefield as Murphy related details of the events to McClure. In 1955, the book was made into a film of the same name, in which Murphy played himself. The book has had multiple printings and been translated into Dutch, Italian, French, and Slovene. __NOTOC__

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