An Army legacy continues

She is "destined for greatness," said Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Barnes about Staff Sgt. Lia Wright on her induction into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club on Fort Jackson Friday.

Barnes spoke highly of Wright during the ceremony, characterizing her as "no better example of a Sgt. Audie Murphy Club member."

Wright served in Barnes' unit, the 165th Infantry Brigade, before being posted at Fort Bragg with

the Joint Special Operation Command. Barnes, the 165th Infantry Brigade's senior enlisted advisor, was inducted into the SAMC in 1997.

SAMC is a private Army organization for non-commissioned officers whose leadership, performance and achievements warrant special recognition. Soldiers must be nominated by their commanders before going through an initial selection board at the unit level. Soldiers passing initial selection then go through a final selection board comprised of command sergeants major.

It is a historically rigorous process.

"It was one of the most difficult things I have done," Wright said after Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier,

Fort Jackson commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Lamont Christian, the post's senior enlisted leader, placed a medallion around her neck. The two were assisted by Staff Sgt. Keisha Lee, of the 193rd Infantry Brigade and president of the Fort Jackson Victory Chapter.

Wright studied a year and half for the process she called "intense, very intense."

After all the time spent preparing she approached the final selection board thinking, "you know what you know when you go in." This allowed her to relax as much as possible and answer questions honestly and professionally.

The club is named after Audie Leon Murphy, one of the most decorated Soldiers of World War II. His exploits during the war are legendary as he was awarded every medal for valor the country gives including the Medal of Honor. Murphy joined the Army as a private and worked his way up the enlisted ranks before receiving a battlefield promotion to lieutenant.

Murphy's most well-known action took place January 26, 1945 near Holtzwihr, France when his unit was attacked by a large element of German soldiers and tanks forcing his unit to withdraw. Murphy directed his team to fall back as he stayed forward calling artillery barrages on the enemy.

His MOH citation read, "With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back."

Murphy, who would go on to star in movies including to Hell and Back based on his bestseller

memoir of the same name, was killed in a plane crash May 28, 1971. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery near the amphitheater and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.