What you may not have heard is that he was a combat veteran who was twice awarded the Purple Heart in the Korean War.
A favorite story I read was how he saved his unit from an attack. He was on sentry duty one night when he detected the odor of garlic. Because his unit hadnt eaten anything with garlic that evening he knew the smell wasnt from one of his guys, so he suspected the enemy was sneaking up the ravine in front of him. He called in a mortar strike on the ravine. His hunch was correct, and because of a good sense of smell the surprise attack was prevented.
Ditto on Murphy's Romance...it was his best.