of first lieutenant at a 50 percent disability classification on 21 September and transferred to the Officers' Reserve Corps. Post-war trauma When Murphy returned from World War II, symptoms of combat stress immediately became evident to family and friends. He was on medication for stomach problems and tightly wound, with any unexpected sound triggering a defensive reflex reaction to an imagined attack. When he slept, it was with a loaded pistol under his pillow. Recurring nightmares had him reliving the war, repeatedly calling out to individual soldiers. Turning the lights on sometimes brought relief, if only to keep him from falling asleep again. He had waking graphic flashbacks that caused him to freeze, reliving a life-threatening moment on the battlefield. His first wife, Wanda Hendrix, stated that he once held her at gunpoint. She witnessed her husband being moved to tears by newsreel footage of German war orphans, guilt-ridden that his war actions might have been the cause of their having no parents. As others had noticed since his return from Europe, Hendrix said his dreams were punctuated with the battles he had fought. She tried to coax him into seeking psychiatric help. During a publicity tour in 1952, his dreams caused him to beat the wall of his motel room until his fists bled. His service medical records reveal that the Army was aware of the symptoms and provided sleeping pills. There is no indication that the military otherwise provided any counseling or treatment for his post-combat stress. Murphy briefly found a creative stress outlet in writing poetry after his Army discharge. His poem "The Crosses Grow on Anzio" appeared in his book To Hell and Back, but was attributed to the fictitiously named Kerrigan. In the mid-1960s, he recognized his dependence on Placidyl, and locked himself alone in a hotel room for a week to successfully break the addiction. His friend David "Spec" McClure who helped him write the book said he never recovered from the war. In an effort to draw attention to the combat–related problems of returning Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, Murphy spoke out candidly about his own problems. He called on the government to give increased consideration and study to the emotional impact of combat experiences, and to extend Veteran's Administration benefits to cover combat stress treatment. Texas National Guard The 36th Infantry Division was federalized as part of the United States Army