The Melody of Freedom
By Emily Johnson
American soldier and World War II Medal of Honor recipient Second Lieutenant Audie Murphy is considered “the most highly decorated soldier in American history.” Murphy fought in many conflicts of the Second World War and served with courage, determination, and skill. Upon the end of the war, Murphy had earned 28 medals. He later became an actor and author. Tragically, he passed away in 1971 in a plane crash.
In 1948, Murphy was invited to visit France by the French government. While there, he met schoolchildren who, at the instruction of their teacher, sang to him in French. Murphy described how during this experience he “felt at home.” Murphy continued, detailing how the spirit of freedom lingered during this moment. In his words,
“A country was free again. A people had recovered their independence and their children were grateful. They were singing in French, but the melody was freedom and any American could understand that. America, at that moment, never meant more to me. The true meaning of America, you ask? It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper. In all these things, and many more, you’ll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me.”
Despite being thousands of miles from the United States, Murphy felt the tug of freedom on his heart. It had the familiarity of an old friend. He noticed how the melody of freedom echoed through the air as it still does today with each singing of the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America.
What Murphy knew on that day in 1948 was true then and is true now – America is the shining beacon of freedom to the world. The incredible blessing of freedom, bestowed by God, under American stars and stripes is immeasurable. Lest we forget such feeling on this fourth of July.
American freedom began when the United States declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. Our freedom evolved throughout history from the passage of the 19th Amendment to the progress of the Civil Rights Movement. However, as the popularity of the distinct American lifestyle grew, so did its opposition. The United States’ freedom has been threatened on its soil by foreign actors on multiple occasions. Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the September 11th al-Qaeda attacks of 2001 are among the most recent attempts to disrupt the American way of life. This evil sought to provoke the West and bolster anti-American ideology. Such terrorism bruised us for a time but our American spirit would not be broken.
Instead, our country prevailed as America reminded the world that our commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is unshakeable. We would not stand idly by as our military and citizens were struck by the hatred of our adversaries. After Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II and finished it four years later when the Japanese surrendered after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After the horror of 9/11, the Global War on Terrorism commenced, and the United States military eradicated the reign of terrorists such as Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. These counterattacks were conducted in the name of freedom. Yet freedom does not come without a cost. 416,800 U.S. servicemembers made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War and, in the Global War on Terrorism, over 7,000 U.S. servicemembers honorably did the same. Without these men and women, and all those who came before them, our country’s continued independence could not be. We owe every bit of freedom we enjoy to their memory.
In the words of retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer Jocko Willink, “The price of freedom is the blood of our nation’s finest men and women,” who, “for our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, sacrificed theirs.”
The United States of America is a country unlike any other in the world. Rooted in freedom, it also upholds the traditional values of God, family, and patriotism which serve as precedents to the American Dream. Americans across the country recognize and honor the preciousness of freedom. The American resolve is found in the blood of hardworking patriots who want for many generations to come to know the melody of freedom as instinctively as we do today. On this July 4th, 2024, may we reflect upon and celebrate freedom as, according to Murphy, “men fight for the right to give their independence to those who love and respect it.”
