Audie Murphy honors and awards

This article is about the military and civilian honors of Audie Murphy. For details on his life and military career, see Audie Murphy.

Murphy wearing the U.S. Army khaki "Class A" (tropical service) uniform with full-size medals, 1948
Murphy's award for the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor

Audie Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated United States Army combat soldiers of World War II, serving from 1942 to 1945. He received every American combat award for valor available at the time of his service,[ALM 1] including the Medal of Honor. He also received recognitions from France and Belgium. With his 1945 military discharge at the end of the war, Murphy became an advocate of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans.[3] The Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio and the Sergeant Audie Murphy Clubs (SAMC) on military bases honor his contributions. He joined the Texas National Guard in 1950, transferring to reserve status in 1956 and remaining in the Guard until 1969. He also had a civilian career as a film actor and songwriter. Recognitions he received both during his lifetime and posthumously are listed below.

Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France.[4] On 25 February 1945 and 3 March 1945, he received two Silver Stars for further heroic actions.[5] The French government awarded Murphy its Chevalier of the Legion of Honor[6] and two Croix de guerre medals.[7][8] He received the Croix de guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium.[8] The military assisted him with replacement medals after he gave away the originals.[ALM 2] Duplicates of his Medal of Honor and other medals can be viewed at Dallas Scottish Rite Temple museum.

  1. ^ U.S. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (23 June 2013). "Military Awards" (PDF). Department of the Army Administrative Publications. p. Chapter 2 II 3–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Life Visits Audie Murphy". Life. 16 July 1945. pp. 94–97. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. ^ Rosen 2012, pp. 149–151.
  4. ^ Simpson 1975, p. 102.
  5. ^ Hackworth & England 2003, p. 37.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chevalier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference De La Croix De Guerre was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Simpson 1975, p. 410.
  9. ^ Larkins & Magers 2004, pp. 1–4.


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