Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy, born June 20, 1924 in the rural area of Farmersville and Greenville, Texas - died May 28, 1971 near Roanoke, Virginia, was the United States' most decorated combat soldier of World War II and a movie actor.
From an original family of 12 children, Audie Murphy was someone born into abject poverty whose father abandoned the family and whose mother died when he was seventeen leaving him and five younger siblings still at home. Desperately needing money, he joined the United States Army in order to earn enough to help support his family.
Although only 5 feet 5 inches tall, Audie Murphy fought in World War II with such courage that he received every decoration for valor that the United States had to offer plus another five decorations were presented to him by Belgium and France. After the war, his photo appeared on the cover of Life Magazine and his 1949 autobiography "To Hell and Back" became a national bestseller. He was signed by Universal Studios where he would star in more than 27 films. The 1955 film,"To Hell and Back," based on his book, held the record as Universal's biggest grossing motion picture until being surpassed in 1975 by Steven Spielberg's Jaws.
In addition to motion pictures, Murphy also became successful as a country music songwriter. However, in spite of his fame and fortune, the trauma of war affected him a great deal and he suffered considerably with what today is known to be Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had a difficult life, suffering from a number of addictions, depression, and insomnia.
Audie Murphy died when the private plane he was flying in crashed in heavy fog. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1996 the State of Texas Legislature officially declared his birthdate, June 20th, as "Audie Murphy Day." In 1999, Governor George W. Bush, also made the same proclation declaring June 20th to officially be "Audie Murphy Day" in the state of Texas.
In the year 2000, Audie Murphy was further honored with his portrait on the 33 cent United States postage stamp.
Military honors:
Web site
The Audie L. Murphy Web site is http://www.audiemurphy.com/ .
Referenced By
1924 | 1949 in literature | 1955 in film | 1971 | 1971 in film | 28 May | 28th May | Actors/Male | Arlington Cemetery | Arlington National Cemetery | Celebrities who died in plane crashes | Congressional Medal of Honor | Congressional Medal of Honour | Jay Silverheels | List of World War II personalities | List of World War II personas | List of male actors | List of male movie actors | List of notable actors | List of notable war heroes | List of people associated with World War II | List of people by name: Mu | List of people known as war heroes | List of people on stamps of the United States | List of people who died in aviation-related incidents | List of people who died in plane crashes | May 28 | May 28th | Medal Of Honor | Medal of Honour | Murphy | People on stamps of the United States | U.S. 3rd Infantry Division | US 3rd Infantry Division | US Army Medal of Honor | US Third Infantry Division | War-hero | War hero
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