--- title: "This vet argued with Audie Murphy, then watched him earn the Medal of Honor" date: "2026-11-05" modified: "2026-11-05" authors: - name: "Logan Nye" job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye.md" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/this-vet-argued-with-audie-murphy-then-watched-him-earn-the-medal-of-honor/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" tags: - "Famous Veterans" - "Medal of Honor" - "Military History" - "Veterans Day" - "VHP" - "World War II" --- # This vet argued with Audie Murphy, then watched him earn the Medal of Honor ![A graphic shows Audie Murphy playing himself in a movie alongside retired Army Col. Argyle Houghton]() *Audie Murphy in "To Hell And Back," retired Army Col. Argyle Houghton. (Universal Pictures/Library of Congress)* Army Col. Argyle Willem Houghton served from 1922 to 1954, covering the entirety of World War II and the Korean War. He grew up in small-town Texas, a town so small that teens had to travel over 30 miles to attend high school. He enlisted while underage and met U.S. Army greats like Gen. George S. Patton. In his Library of Congress Veterans History Project interview, he even described how he and Audie Murphy used to argue, before Murphy took company command and [earned his Medal of Honor]()... in front of Houghton. **Also Read: [5 lesser-known facts about the most decorated soldier in American history]()** Over his 31 years of service, Houghton rose to the rank of colonel. In 2004, at 99 years old, he gave an interview at the Audie L. Murphy Veterans Hospital where he detailed everything from watching his cousin struggle after four cases of malaria to what it was like to know Audie Murphy personally. ### Why Houghton Chose the Army ![A card from the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Hospital shows a photo of Argyle William Houghton and gives some details of his military career, such as him retiring as a colonel and knowing Audie Murphy personally.]() *Army Col. Argyle Houghton joined the Army before Audie Murphy was born, served with him in Europe, and witnessed his Medal of Honor actions, and then lived in the hospital named for him. (Library of Congress)* Houghton chose the Army because of family relations. "I had a great uncle that was Southern Command down in Panama. He became, eventually, a commanding general... And I had his nephew down there also, but he got malaria four times, and no one's ever recovered from malaria four times. But he used to go and I remember one time he went to get a drink of water in the kitchen. We had two faucets in the kitchen and he was hanging onto them, just shaking like a carburetor would be... He died at Dayton, Ohio in a military hospital in Dayton, Ohio. But he gave his life." Despite seeing what his granduncle's nephew went through, Houghton enlisted in the same branch, claiming he was 17 years old, when he was only 16. His officers played along, but at least one knew and celebrated him becoming legal on his birthday. Having joined in 1922, he had almost two decades of experience when he shipped to Europe during World War II. ### Houghton Fought World War II with Well-Known Heroes His tenure in the Army prepared him for the work, but not for some of the horrors he would see. The 15th Infantry Regiment fought from Africa to Italy, France, and Germany. On the way, Houghton's men came up on German horses struck by Allied airpower. ![A German Bundesarchiv Bild photo shows teams of horses pulling camouflaged wagons with pneumatic tires in 1944.]() *Teams of horses pulling camouflaged wagons with pneumatic tires in 1944. (German Bundesarchiv Bild) Genzler* "They had a lot of horse-drawn artillery vehicles and supply vehicles," he told the interviewer. "We shot those. The air plane shot them up. These horses with their guts hanging out. We just put the horses out of their misery. Went up and shot the horses, killed them, put them out of their misery." The 15th Infantry suffered and inflicted thousands of casualties in Europe, but many of its most famous actions involved Audie Murphy who Houghton argued with, going "round and round." "A hell of a good soldier," Houghton recalled. "He was a redheaded guy, sand-haired. We used to go round and round, but that's normal. A soldier is a soldier. I'd swear by him under any conditions. He was a good, good soldier, a good fighter, a good person. He was quite talented." "He could write poetry. He could write songs. He was quite a good man." After a series of heroic exploits, Murphy received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and then took command of Baker Company, which Houghton was in. As an interesting side note, that meant Houghton had been in the Army longer than his company commander had been alive. ![audie murphy medal of honor to hell and back color 1200]() *Murphy killed an estimated 50 German troops from atop the tank destroyer on Jan. 26, 1945. Murphy played himself in the movie chronicling his heroics. (Universal Pictures)* ### Watching Audie Murphy Earn His Medal of Honor But Audie Murphy had already proven his mettle, and Houghton was there when he earned his Medal of Honor on Jan. 26, 1945, the same day he took company command. When an interviewer asked Houghton about Murphy's actions that day, Houghton chuckled. "Dumb, stupid bastard, didn't have any sense," Houghton laughed. "We had boxes of ammo on it, on this tank that was burning. It had .50-calibers on it. He was using them as the reserves were coming up from the Germans. The smoke was covering him as he was firing. They finally figured something out or just got damn lucky and shot him through the rear end. The bullet came out his abdominal area, finished him. He couldn't pass the physical anymore." Murphy survived but could no longer serve on the front lines. He was credited with killing or wounding 50 Germans, only finally climbing off the burning tank when he ran out of ammunition. Murphy was far from the only famous soldier that Houghton met. Probably most famous was then-Army Col. George S. Patton at Fort Meade, Maryland. Houghton served in the Korean War, a period he didn't address in his 2004 interview. He retired after the war as a colonel with 31 years of service. He became a geophysicist and worked for mineral and oil extraction companies. In his 2004 interview, he remained humble. "Other people served just like I did," he said. "And I tell you, they deserve just as much recognition as I have, as I deserved under any conditions." **Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty** **• [Kamikaze pilots couldn’t stop this Marine veteran, 104, during World War II]()** **• [Korean War veteran pinpoints the most important lesson of war]()** **• [What this airman did to survive at the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War]()** ## Author Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() ## More - [Audie Murphy: To hell and back, over and over again]() - [Audie Murphy: American war hero, actor, advocate]() - [Ola Mize became ‘the Audie Murphy of the Korean War’ by fighting off a Chinese division]() - [This Medal of Honor recipient takes you inside the scariest day of his life]() - [This Medal of Honor recipient’s healing hands spelled trouble for the Japanese at Okinawa]() - [The only time a Medal of Honor recipient killed another Medal of Honor recipient]() - [This soldier earned the Medal of Honor while totally stoned]() - [AUSA graphic novel spotlights ex-NFL player who earned the Medal of Honor]()