transferred him to Retired Reserve. For his combined service in the Army and the Guard, his home state posthumously awarded Murphy the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor. United States Army Enlistment and initial training Murphy had wanted to be a soldier all his youth and dreamed about combat. The death of his mother in May 1941 added even more impetus to his desire to achieve that goal. When he heard the news of Japan's 7 December attack on Pearl Harbor he tried to enlist in the Marines, the Navy and the Army, but was turned down for being underweight and underage. He added weight with a change in diet, and gave the Army an affidavit from his sister Corinne that falsified his birth date by a year. Murphy enlisted on 30 June 1942 in Dallas. During his physical examination his height was recorded as and his weight as . Assigned to the infantry, during basic training at Camp Wolters, Texas, Murphy earned the Marksman Badge with Rifle Clasp and the Expert Badge with Bayonet Clasp. While participating in a close order drill during that hot Texas summer, he passed out. His company commander thought his build was too slight for service in the infantry, and tried to have him transferred to a cook and bakers' school, but Murphy insisted on becoming a combat soldier. He completed the 13-week basic training course and in October was given leave to visit his family, after which he was sent to Fort George G. Meade in Maryland for advanced infantry training with the 76th Infantry Division until January 1943. Mediterranean Theater North Africa In January 1943, Murphy was processed through Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. He arrived at Casablanca, in French Morocco on 20 February and was assigned to Company B of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Infantry Division. As part of Operation Torch the Americans had seized Port Lyautey in French Morocco on 8 November 1942, and the 3rd Infantry Division was sent there on 7 March 1943. The 3rd Division, under the command of Major General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., who took them through rigorous training at Arzew in Algeria, for an amphibious landing at Sicily. Private Murphy participated with his division in 8-hour marches, known as the "Truscott Trot". For the first hour, the men marched at a pace of , and slowed to for the second