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June 11, 1944. Matt Urban is with the 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry,
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close to the wartorn beaches of Normandy, France. The Germans are throwing everything
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they've got at the Americans. It's chaos, and in the melee a soldier carrying a bazooka goes down.
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Urban, who's no stranger to being on the losing end of a battle, picks up the bazooka
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and walks towards the advancing German tanks. His men can only look on in awe as they watch him walk
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through the smoke towards those giant machines. He takes two of them out, but is soon hit in the
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leg by shrapnel. Unfazed, he directs orders from a stretcher, moving his men towards the action.
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His motto: You never turn away from a fight. He would do this kind of thing time and again,
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walk right into the line of fire, his gun blazing, his own blood staining his military fatigues.
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He suffered tremendously for his bravery, but he almost single-handedly won battles,
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and he saved countless soldiers' lives. Urban was possibly one of the most
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courageous soldiers the U.S. has ever produced. He wasn't only insanely valiant,
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he was also a brilliant tactician. He could have died; he should have died
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on numerous occasions, but there's a reason he got the nickname “The Ghost.” He was unstoppable and
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he could seemingly defy death. Time and again he took out the enemy and somehow evaded being
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killed himself. That's why he became one of the most decorated American soldiers of all time:
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The Medal of Honor. Seven Purple Hearts. Silver Stars. The French Croix de Guerre. The American
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Campaign Medal, and others. This is his story.
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Born on August 25, 1919, Urban was brought up on the tough streets of Buffalo,
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New York. His family were regular blue-collar workers. There wasn't much cash to go around,
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but coming from a humble background no doubt set this person up to become the man he became.
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In high school he succeeded in most sports and was a very proficient boxer. In 1937,
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he enrolled at Cornell University to study history. While there he joined the Reserve
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Officers Training Corps, competing in its athletics and boxing competitions.
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His life was about to change forever. The world was about to change forever. War was on its way.
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November 8, 1942. Urban finds himself under fire for the first time in his life. He's part of
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what's called the invasion of North Africa. He's fighting at the Battle of Port Lyautey in French
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Morocco when something happens to Urban that will shape him into the fearless soldier he'll become.
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It's a vicious fight, with both sides seeing many casualties. Some of the American landing boats
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don't even make it to the port. At one point Urban finds himself in the middle of the battle, guns
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blazing all around him, smoke filling the air. Suddenly he's standing in the midst of the chaos,
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holding the decapitated head of a comrade. He would later say that it was the shock he felt at
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that moment that motivated him to become a hero. The battle is won, and Urban is sent to Tunisia.
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There he captures a German communications post almost by himself. He leads his men against the
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German army in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. His battalion holds off a German counterattack,
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and Urban is fierce as always. During the fight his men are on the back foot,
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but Urban holds his ground. At one point he grabs a German soldier and kills him with a
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trench knife. He then takes the dead man's pistol and rushes towards the Germans firing at him.
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All this doesn't come without injuries. Urban suffers seven different injuries from shrapnel,
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but of course he refuses to go back to the U.S. to receive treatment.
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For his bravery he later gets two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, and with two Purple Hearts.
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This is just the beginning of this man's death-defying actions in the army.
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He's then sent to Sicily where he's given an order to take his unit across a mountainous trail
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so they can outflank German troops. 4,000 troops with their mules make the hazardous journey
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and they mount a surprise attack on the Germans. The enemy has no choice but to retreat.
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Sicily is soon liberated and Urban can add another Silver Star to his growing collection.
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Now we come to France and the beaches of Normandy. This is when Urban takes
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that bazooka and blasts two German tanks, saving many lives on the side of the Allies.
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Just a day later, Urban is hit by shrapnel. This time it's more serious. His men try to convince
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him to get help, but as always, the stubborn Urban says he can go on. 'tis but a scratch, he may or
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may not have told his men, but it doesn't matter anyway because he's hit again not long after.
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This time it's even more serious and Urban has no choice but to go to England and receive treatment.
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So, there he is, lying in a hospital bed in England when he gets word that his men are not
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faring too well in Normandy. What should happen is Urban follows orders and returns to the U.S.
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His leg is in a really bad way. It gives him constant pain, and he can't walk without a cane.
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This doesn't stop him. He gets forty guys together and they board a troop carrier and
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return to France. Once there he hitchhikes to Utah Beach where his battalion is. When he arrives,
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he finds his men in a difficult position. They're taking heavy fire and are basically pinned down.
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It's now time for more heroics. Urban is informed that a U.S tank still
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has its driver in it. Two soldiers have already been killed by the Germans after trying to get
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to the turret and the 50-caliber machine gun. Under heavy fire, Urban crawls through the mud,
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making his way to the tank. Where others have failed, he succeeds. He gains control of the
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tank and orders the driver to head towards the Germans. Under fire from anti-tank artillery,
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Urban and the driver keep pressing ahead. Those who witness this can't believe their eyes.
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Here is a man that can hardly walk. A man that should be in a hospital bed, and he's blasting
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his way through German forces like he's both invisible and invincible. This guy is half-crazy,
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say some men, it's as if he has no fear. It's then that they give him the name, “The Ghost.”
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The Ghost isn't done yet. He's just starting. After reaching enemy lines in his tank,
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Urban's men gain confidence. They pick up their guns and run toward the Germans. What ensues
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is a fight for life, hand-to-hand combat and bayonet fighting between U.S. and German troops.
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Buoyed by the brutal strength of their commander, the American troops overwhelm the Germans.
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The white flag is held up. The enemy is defeated. All this is being watched from a distance.
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Second Battalion Commander Max L. Wolf has been standing at a far-off command post
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watching the fight through his binoculars. He can't believe what he's just witnessed.
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One man has pretty much led his men to victory in a battle they looked certain to lose. Wolf soon
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recommends Urban for the Medal of Honor, not just for showing incredible bravery, but for saving the
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lives of a battalion that looked sure to die. This is what was later written about Urban's
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actions, and why he was recommended for the Medal: “Urban moved forward, and damned if the U.S. Army
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didn't move forward also. He bellied up to the tank and amid heavy gunfire scrambled aboard and
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manned the machine gun. The driver took heart with Urban aboard. The tank roared forward,
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and Urban tore the hillside apart with that gun. The men, once again with 'Urban-itis'
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scrambled up the rise and gained the objective.” So, does Urban return home, collect his medal and
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bask in the warmth of his country's appreciation? Hell no, he fights on,
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even with a seriously damaged leg. Around a week later, he gets injured again,
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this time by a shell fragment that just misses his heart. Does he return
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home when asked? You know the answer to that. His admirer, Wolf, is taken out by the Germans,
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so the 24-year old Urban assumes command of the 2nd battalion. Believe it or not,
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he gets wounded yet again by shrapnel, but he manages to stay with his unit. That unit
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receives the French Croix de Guerre, and now it's time for Urban to raise hell over in Belgium.
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This is where he really should die…God knows how he didn't.
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He's fighting against the Germans with his battalion in a place called Philippeville.
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There they've discovered a fairly large, well-equipped German unit. When Urban and his men
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finally get the aircraft cover they've requested, they advance towards the German troops. Not one to
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shy away from a fight, Urban runs at the Germans. His objective is to take out a machine gun nest,
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but to do that, he has to get close. Armed with two grenades he runs towards the emplacement.
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His men watch in wonder, and then in horror, as their commander takes a bullet to the neck.
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Urban is now lying on the floor, trying to staunch a river of blood seeping from his neck.
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The unused grenades lie at his side. His life force diminishes.
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Luckily for him, some of his men manage to drag him through the mud and take him to
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a place of safety. There they patch him up as best they can as bullets rain over their heads.
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A doctor arrives at the scene. He administers blood to Urban and performs a tracheotomy so
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he can breathe. Until then, Urban was gurgling blood, looking like his days were numbered. He's
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in such a bad way that when the chaplain arrives, he's read his last rites. The doctor approves,
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saying this man has seen his last fight. But we are talking about a man called The Ghost.
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Ghosts don't die easily. Urban knocks on death's door a
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few times during his recovery, but in hospital in France he gets over the worst of it. In England,
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he receives more treatment and a man that looked as good as dead comes back to life.
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And no, he doesn't go home to the U.S. You should know that by now. Instead, he gets the green light
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in Scotland to go back to his battalion. His men are over the moon to see him because no
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one thought he could have survived that neck wound. It's as if they are looking at a ghost.
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There is a slight problem when it comes to leading his men. He can't actually speak. He asks the
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higher ups if he can take a combat assignment and if he can do that using writing, not speaking.
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This is a bridge too far for his Infantry Regiment commander. He's told he can stay with his men for
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a while, but no more big fights. It's time to hang up your gloves, the commander tells him.
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Urban retired from the military in 1947 to concentrate on sports coaching,
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especially boxing. He trained a bunch of young men and helped them to become national Golden
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Gloves Champions. He even trained Cassius Clay for a while, the man that would become Muhammad Ali,
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possibly the greatest fighter that ever lived. Urban could talk in those days, but his damaged
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vocal chords gave him quite a raspy voice. The Ghost died in 1995, aged 75. The cause
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of death was a collapsed lung, a consequence of the injuries he'd received in the war.
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Now you need to watch, “The Insanely Crazy Story of a Tiny Soldier.” Or,
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“Bazooka Charlie - Pilot Who Attached A Bazooka To Plane.”