Audie Murphy

For other people with similar names, see Eddie Murphy (disambiguation).

Audie Murphy
Murphy wearing the U.S. Army khaki "Class A" (tropical service) uniform with full-size medals, 1948
Born(1925-06-20)20 June 1925[1][ALM 1]
Kingston, Texas, U.S.
Died28 May 1971(1971-05-28) (aged 45)
14 nautical miles northwest of Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.[ALM 2]
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branch
Years of service
Rank
Service number
  • 18083707 (as enlisted man)[2]
  • 01692509 (as officer)[3][2]
Unit
Battles / wars
Awards
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1951)​
Pamela Opal Lee Archer
​
​
(m. 1951)​
Other work
  • Actor
  • songwriter
  • rancher
SignatureAudie Murphy
Websiteaudiemurphy.com

Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971)[1] was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II,[4] and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history.[5][6] 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.

Murphy was born into a large family of sharecroppers in Hunt County, Texas. After his father abandoned them, his mother died when he was a teenager. Murphy left school in fifth grade to pick cotton and find other work to help support his family; his skill with a hunting rifle helped feed his family.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Murphy's older sister helped him to falsify documentation about his birthdate in order to meet the minimum age for enlisting in the military. Turned down initially for being underweight by the Army, Navy, and the Marine Corps, he eventually was able to enlist in the Army. He first saw action in the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily; then in 1944 he participated in the Battle of Anzio, the liberation of Rome, and the invasion of southern France. Murphy fought at Montélimar and led his men on a successful assault at L'Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October. Despite suffering from multiple illnesses and wounds throughout his service, Murphy became one of the most praised and decorated soldiers of World War II.[7] He is credited with killing 241 enemy soldiers.[8][9]

After the war, Murphy embarked on a 21-year acting career. He played himself in the 1955 autobiographical film To Hell and Back, based on his 1949 memoirs of the same name, but most of his roles were in Westerns. He made guest appearances on celebrity television shows and starred in the series Whispering Smith. Murphy was a fairly accomplished songwriter. He bred quarter horses in California and Arizona, and became a regular participant in horse racing.

Because Murphy had what would today be described as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), then known as "battle fatigue", he slept with a loaded handgun under his pillow. He looked for solace in addictive sleeping pills. In his last few years, he was plagued by money problems but refused offers to appear in alcohol and cigarette commercials because he did not want to set a bad example. Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia in 1971, shortly before his 46th birthday. He was interred with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

  1. ^ a b Smith 2015, pp. 1, 12–13.
  2. ^ a b Reyna, Charmaine (25 January 2013). "Lead From The Front: Sergeant Audie Murphy Study Guide" (PDF). Fort Lee. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. ^ Audie Murphy's Medal of Honor citation (War Department GO 45, 9 August 1945)
  4. ^ "Audie Murphy Single-handedly Stopped a German Attack". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  5. ^ Graham 1989, p. 101.
  6. ^ "Audie Leon Murphy". Association of the United States Army. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  7. ^ Andrews, Evan (29 August 2018). "WWII Hero Audie Murphy: 'How Come I'm Not Dead?'". History.com. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  8. ^ Kernan, Michael (28 July 1989). "Audie Murphy, Killer Hero". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  9. ^ Martin, Philip (19 July 2020). "Critical Mass: Unassuming Audie Murphy a true American hero". arkansasonline.com. Retrieved 13 December 2023.


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