Audie Murphy (1925

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Biography

Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at age 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded.

In Their Own Words (1)

Loyalty to your comrades, when you come right down to it, has more to do with bravery in battle than even patriotism does. You may want to be brave, but your spirit can desert you when things really get rough. Only you find you can't let your comrades down and in the pinch they can't let you down either.

Timeline

The story of Audie Murphy, told in moments.

1925 Birth

Born into a family of sharecroppers in Kingston, Texas. His father abandoned the family. His mother died when he was 16. He had nine siblings. He picked cotton and hunted to keep them fed.

Did your father's abandonment and mother's death make you older than sixteen? Was hunting to feed nine siblings the first survival training?

1942 Event

Enlisted in the Army at 17 after being turned away by the Marines and paratroopers for being too small. He was 5'5" and 112 pounds. His sister had falsified his birth certificate to say he was 18.

How does a 5'5", 112-pound kid convince the Army when everyone else says no? Was your sister falsifying your birth certificate an act of love?

1945 Event

Single-handedly held off an entire company of German soldiers near Holtzwihr, France, for an hour. He climbed onto a burning tank destroyer and fired its .50 caliber machine gun while wounded. He was 19. Earned the Medal of Honor.

What made you climb a burning tank destroyer at nineteen? Was holding off an entire company for an hour courage or something beyond it?

1949 Event

Starred in his first Hollywood film. James Cagney had invited him to Hollywood after seeing his photo on the cover of Life magazine. Murphy made over 40 movies.

Was James Cagney's invitation to Hollywood surreal after the battlefield? Did 40 movies capture anything real about you?

1971 Death

Killed in a plane crash in Virginia at 45. He'd struggled with PTSD for decades and spoke publicly about it when nobody else would. The most decorated American soldier of World War II.

Was speaking publicly about PTSD when nobody else would your bravest act? Does being the most decorated soldier matter more than the films?

Artifacts (1)

Audie Murphy's OD Field Jacket

Murphy, Audie

1939-1945 · wool (overall material)

Smithsonian View

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