3/10/2012:
A Jamestown man was reunited with the most decorated soldier in the United States Army on this date in 1949. Mechanic and former Lieutenant Walter Weispfenning was flown from Jamestown to Hollywood to surprise Audie Murphy on the weekly taping of NBC’s This is Your Life. The radio broadcast, hosted by Ralph Edwards, surprised a guest each week by reliving important moments of his or her life and then reuniting them with people from their past. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient-turned-actor Audie Murphy had served with Weispfenning during World War II, and Weispfenning had nominated Murphy for the Medal of Honor. Weispfenning also earned a medal, the Legion of Merit. Upon meeting, Murphy smiled and said, “Glad to see you, Walt.” The men had not seen one another since the war.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Fargo Forum and Daily Tribune. Thursday (Morning ed.), March 10, 1949: p. 15.