I was utterly amazed when I saw the story published in the Texas Tribune about the late Audie Murphy.

It said that Murphy, a native of Hunt County in Northeast Texas, has yet to receive the state’s highest military honor, the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/06/21/audie-murphy-hero-still-missing-one-medal/

What an outrage!

Murphy died in 1971 at the age of 45 in a plane crash. But some 26 years before that he distinguished himself on the battlefield in a way that almost defies one’s imagination. He held off an entire Germany company – about 200 soldiers – in January 1945. Those who witnessed the action said Murphy killed about 50 enemy soldiers while manning a machine gun atop an armored vehicle.

Those heroics resulted in his receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor. All told, he received more than 20 medals and citations for valor in combat during World War II.

He went on to make some movies, including one film – “To Hell and Back” – that depicted his own heroism. Murphy died much too young, of course.

But back to this Texas Legislative Medal of Honor. Gov. Rick Perry was supposed to have it delivered to his desk this legislative session, but according to the Tribune, there was some kind of mixup. Perry didn’t get it in time.

My question, though, is this: Why wasn’t Murphy the first honoree when the Legislature began awarding the medal in 1997?

It’s an absolute travesty that someone who arguably is Texas’s most decorated warrior hasn’t been honored by his home state. The Legislature has gone through nine cycles since the Legislative Medal of Honor was created. I think it ought to get it right when No. 10 rolls around in January 2015.

Audie Murphy, of all those from Texas who was a member of the Greatest Generation, deserves this honor.