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Quick Facts
- NAME: Audie Murphy
- OCCUPATION: Actor, Warrior
- BIRTH DATE: June 20, 1924
- DEATH DATE: May 28, 1971
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Kingston, Texas
- PLACE OF DEATH: Roanoke, Virginia
Best Known For
The most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy returned home a hero and became an actor, starring his own story, To Hell and Back.
Videos see all videos
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Audie Murphy - Full Episode (43:34)
Audie Leon Murphy. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 02:57, May 25, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662
Audie Leon Murphy [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662, May 25
" Audie Leon Murphy." 2012. Biography.com 25 May 2012, 02:57 http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662
' Audie Leon Murphy', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662 [accessed May 25, 2012]
" Audie Leon Murphy," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662 (accessed May 25, 2012).
Audie Leon Murphy [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 25]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662.
Audie Leon Murphy, http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662 (last visited May 25, 2012).
Audie Leon Murphy, http://www.biography.com/people/audie-murphy-9418662 (last visited May 25, 2012).
Synopsis
Born in Texas on June 20, 1924, Audie Murphy eventually became the most decorated U.S. soldier in World War II. Though he was only 21 years old at the end of the war, he had killed 240 German soldiers, had been wounded three times, and had earned 33 awards and medals. After the war, he appeared in more than 40 films. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder throughout his life.
Profile
Born in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas, on June 20, 1924, Audie Murphy was raised in a sharecropper's dilapidated house. Audie's father, Emit, fell short on his parental responsibilities, continuing to father children, twelve in all, despite that fact that he had no plan for how to feed them. Taking up the slack, Audie helped feed his mother and siblings by hunting rabbits and other small animals around their property. In 1940, Audie's father deserted the family for good, and his mother passed away a year later. Moved to do something to honor his mother's life, Murphy enlisted in the military 10 days after his 18th birthday. In February 1943, he left for North Africa, where he received extensive training.
A few months later, Murphy's division moved to invade Sicily. His actions on the ground impressed his superior officers and they quickly promoted him to corporal. While fighting in the wet mountains of Italy, Murphy contracted malaria. Despite such setbacks, he continually distinguished himself in battle. In August of 1944, his division moved to southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. It was there that Murphy's best friend, Lattie Tipton, was lured into the open and killed by a German soldier pretending to surrender. Enraged by this act, Murphy charged and killed the Germans that had just killed his friend. He then commandeered the German's machine gun and grenades and attacked several more nearby positions, killing all of the German soldiers there. Murphy was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.
Over the course of World War II, Murphy witnessed the deaths of hundreds of fellow and enemy soldiers. Endowed with great courage in the face of these horrors, he was awarded 33 U.S. military medals, including three Purple Hearts and one Medal of Honor.
In June of 1945, Murphy returned home from Europe a hero and was greeted with parades and elaborate banquets. LIFE magazine honored the brave, baby-faced soldier by putting him on the cover of their July 16, 1945 issue. That photograph inspired actor James Cagney to call Murphy and invite him to Hollywood to begin an acting career. Despite his celebrity, however, Murphy struggled for years to gain recognition. In 1949, he published his autobiography, "To Hell and Back." The book quickly became a national bestseller, and in 1955, after much inner debate, he decided to portray himself in the film version of his book. The movie was a hit and held Universal Studio's record as its highest-grossing motion picture until 1975. Murphy would go on to make 44 feature films in all. Aside from acting, he also
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