SAMHSEC
Chairman: Malcolm Kinghorn culturev@lantic.net
Secretary: Stephen Bowker stephen@stephenbowker.co.za
Speaker coordinator: André Crozier andrecrozier@gmail.com
Scribe: vacant
Field trip coordinator: vacant
SAMHSEC meeting 13 January 2025
Dylan Fourie told us about Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of WW2.
Born in 1925 in rural Texas, he grew up in poverty as the 7th of 12 children. After his father abandoned the family, he left school in the fifth grade to support his family by picking cotton and hunting for food. His mother’s death in 1941 deepened his determination to join the military. Initially rejected for being underweight and underage, he managed to enlist in the Army in June 1942 by falsifying his birth date.
Murphy trained rigorously and was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. He participated in major operations, including the invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France. He quickly proved himself in combat, earning multiple promotions and medals. A defining moment came when his best friend, Lattie Tipton, was killed by German soldiers feigning surrender. Enraged, Murphy single-handedly stormed the enemy position, killing several soldiers and capturing the rest. His exceptional bravery earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. In battles across northeastern France, Murphy continued his heroics, earning the Silver Star and a battlefield commission to second lieutenant. His resilience was tested when he was wounded in the hip during a sniper ambush, requiring hospitalisation for gangrene treatment.
Murphy returned to operations at the Colmar Pocket in January 1945. Now a company commander, he found himself leading a severely depleted unit. During a German attack at Holtzwihr, Murphy ordered his men to withdraw while he remained alone, holding the line. He mounted a burning M10 tank destroyer and used its .50 calibre machine gun to fend off advancing German infantry and tanks for an hour, killing 50 enemy soldiers. Despite sustaining a leg wound, he led a counterattack. His actions at Holtzwihr earned him the Medal of Honor, making him the most decorated US soldier of the war.
After the war, Murphy struggled with severe PTSD. He experienced recurring nightmares, flashbacks and bouts of paranoia, often sleeping with a loaded pistol under his pillow. The military offered little help beyond sleeping pills, which led to addiction. Determined to overcome his difficulties, Murphy locked himself in a hotel room to break his dependence on medication. He became a vocal advocate for veterans, urging the government to recognise and treat combat-related stress.
Transitioning to Hollywood, Murphy starred in several films, including playing himself in To Hell and Back, an adaptation of his wartime memoir. Despite his fame, he remained deeply affected by the war. On 28 May 1971, at age 45, Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia. He was buried with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery and his legacy endures as a symbol of courage, resilience, and sacrifice.
Dylan’s presentation is in the Society website's Video Library
SAMHSEC RPC 27 January 2025
In session 1, Pat Irwin gave a brief illustrated account of the Norwegian merchant ship, Hestmanden, which was converted to a floating War Memorial and Museum for War-sailors – the Norwegian term for merchant seamen in wartime or on active service. The Memorial and Museum became fully operational in 2021.
Built in Bergen as a multi-purpose cargo ship, the Hestmanden was launched in 1911 and for the next three years operated as a coastal freighter mainly in the North Sea and the Baltic. With the outbreak of WWI in 1914, she was leased to the British and served in Allied convoys where she had a number of narrow escapes, particularly from U-boats. On occasion she was the only survivor of an entire convoy. During the interwar years (1918-1940) she reverted to her previous trading functions.
After Germany’s invasion of Norway in April 1940, King Haakon handed the entire Norwegian merchant fleet over to Britain under the umbrella of a joint Norwegian- British company known as Nortraship, the only condition being that they should sail under the Norwegian flag. Once again Hestmanden found herself sailing in Allied convoys, this time not only for protection from U-boats, but also bombers, torpedo aircraft, E-boats and mines. She managed to survive all and again earned the approbation of “A Lucky Ship”. The final honour came when she took part in the D-Day landings in June 1944.
Post WW2, Hestmanden returned to her commercial role, one of the rich ironies of which was being used for transporting scrap metal from broken up German warship wrecks such as the Tirpitz and U-843. In 1964, the ship was retired but in 1979 was bought by the Norwegian Club for Veteran Vessels (Norsk Veteranskipsklubb) which had a vision for its future as a sailing museum and a permanent floating memorial for Norwegian War-sailors. In 1995 restoration work, supported by “the people’s King” (Olaf V) was started in Kristiaansand. In 2011 Hestmanden was relaunched in the presence of the King and 240 War- sailors, after which further restoration and upgrading was carried out, including the impressive museum component. In 2021 Hestmanden, sailing under her own steam-power with her original engine, embarked on a voyage along the long Norwegian Coast, from Kristiansand in the south to Tromsø in the north. She now does an annual cruise visiting various ports en route.
During the talk some of the social and psychological problems besetting post-War Norway, including those of the War-sailors were briefly touched upon, as well as how they were resolved to the potential benefit of the War-sailors.
The talk concluded with a brief view of some of the interior aspects of the restored ship and an overview of some of the activities she was engaged in on her cruises around the country.
Pat’s presentation is in the Video Library of the Society's website.
See recordings of previous presentations on Norway in WW2 in the Zoom library:
"The Heavy Load -Saving Norwegian gold reserves in WW2” by Barry Irwin
"Battle of Drobak Sound, Norway April 1940" by Dylan Fourie
In session 2, André Crozier presented the last days of WW1, based on the book “The Greatest Day in History – How the Great War Really Ended” by Nicholas Best published in 2008.
The book recounts the events of the seven days leading up to the Armistice from Monday 4 November to Monday 11 November 1918.
It was a dramatic week with Allied offensives, the German forces falling apart as they withdrew towards Belgium and Germany, the beginning of a Communist revolution in Germany after the mutiny of the sailors at Wilhelmshaven, the collapse of the Imperial Government and the abdication of the Kaiser. The author has created an overview of these events for each day as experienced by witnesses, both military and civilian.
The book shares the views and impressions of the Allied generals Foch, Haig, Rawlinson and Pershing and future generals MacArthur, Patton and Montgomery. Also there, was the future US President Harry Truman, a captain in the US Field Artillery, and Denys Reitz, a Boer War veteran, now commanding a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
The talk dealt with the background leading up to the above events being principally the Fourteen Point Speech by US President Woodrow Wilson on 8 January 1918, which laid the basis for an Armistice agreement. But first there had to be a change of government in Germany and the Kaiser had to abdicate.
The signing of the Armistice was a desperate affair. Final negotiations started at 02h00 on Monday 11 November and continued until the agreement was signed at 05h12 with the cease fire taking place six hours later at 11h00.
There was a huge rush to get the message back to the respective governments and to the front-line commanders.
Marshal Foch wanted the fighting to continue right up the last minute. Some commanders immediately cancelled the day’s operations. Others went ahead. Others never got the message. The last Allied soldier to die was American Private Henry Gunter who died at one minute to 11 whilst charging a machine gun post.
The Great War was over and all over the world people were celebrating, but there still was a lot of dying. The Western Front saw 10944 casualties including 2738 dead on 11 November, almost as many as on D-Day.
Was the Armistice a good decision? Should the Allies have insisted on complete surrender as advocated by American General Pershing? The German Army marched back in good order and the myth arose that they were in fact winning the war, but had been stabbed in the back by the politicians. The political situation in Germany was obviously a vital factor for both sides. Any further delay could have resulted in a Communist takeover of Germany.
The book ends with Adolf Hitler, lying on his bed in hospital and seething with rage at the Armistice. He decided it was all the Jews’ fault, and he would have to go into politics and have revenge.
André’s presentation is in the Video Library of the Society's website.
SAMHSEC meeting 10 February 2025
Alan Mantle is to discuss the World War 2 Mediterranean Theatre Conflicts of Military Strategy with Coalition Politics.
The coalition of Britain, the US and Soviet Russia was the key to victory in WW2. However, it was an alliance of nations with differing traditions, politics, leadership styles and competing interests that often undermined rational military strategy.
The management of this Alliance was not without problems. This aspect is often ignored when analysing the conduct of the war and in particular the operational choices that were made. We will be discussing this in relation to the campaigns in the Mediterranean Theatre covering the critical period from 1942 to 1945
SAMHSEC Requests the Pleasure of your Company to talk about military history on 24 February 2025.
RPC meetings are opportunities for you to share your knowledge of a military history subject or book with fellow military historians. Presentations should last approximately 15 minutes to allow time for sharing the pleasure of one another’s company. You can do any number of RPC presentations per year. Please contact André at andrecrozier@gmail.com if you want to share your knowledge.
SAMHSEC visit to PE SAAF Museum 22 March 2025
SAMHSEC is to visit the PE SAAF Museum on 22 March 2025.
SAMHSEC AGM 31 March 2025 at 1900 Notice
SAMHSEC’s AGM zoomeeting is at 1900 on 31 March 2025
Agenda points and committee nominations are to be submitted to the Secretary by 1 March 2025
Chairman’s appeal: please offer to serve on the committee. The Scribe and Field Trip Coordinator positions have been vacant for years. Committee affairs are conducted online, so all members can participate.
South Africans killed in Vietnam
Everitt (Lofty) Lance
John Molynauex
Look up on website samilhistory.com - the links are too long to insert on our website.