## The Thompson Submachine Gun at the Volturno
The specific weapon Murphy used at the Volturno River crossing — the Thompson submachine gun — is a detail from the documented accounts of his Italy service that is worth noting in its own right.
The Thompson, known colloquially as the Tommy gun, was a .45-caliber submachine gun that had been standard issue for some American infantry units since the interwar period. Its .45-caliber round was heavy and slow by rifle standards, effective against personnel at close range but limited in accuracy at longer distances compared to the M1 Garand rifle that most American infantrymen carried.
The Thompson was well-suited to the specific kind of close-range fighting that characterized much of the Italian campaign — street fighting, clearing buildings, working through terrain where engagements happened at short distances. At the Volturno River, where Murphy and another soldier were in close contact with German infantry, the Thompson’s characteristics were appropriate for the engagement.
The specific detail of killing five German soldiers with the Thompson at the Volturno is from the narrative accounts of his service and from the memoir *To Hell and Back*. The accounts do not elaborate on the exact circumstances in ways that allow precise reconstruction of the action. What is clear is that the engagement at the Volturno contributed to Murphy’s developing reputation within Company B as a soldier with particular capability in combat — a reputation that preceded his eventual rise to platoon sergeant and battlefield commission.
## The 15th Infantry Regiment’s History
The 15th Infantry Regiment, in which Murphy served from his arrival in Africa through the end of the war, had a specific institutional history that is part of the context for his service.