Audie Murphy
Soldier / Actor / World War II Figure
Audie Murphy was the most decorated American Army soldier of World War II. The orphaned son of Texas sharecroppers, he enlisted at age 18 and went on to win two dozen military medals for valor, including the coveted Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war Murphy parlayed his wartime fame into an up-and-down career as a movie actor, songwriter, and businessman. He wrote his war memoirs, To Hell And Back, and played himself in the 1955 movie of the same name.Extra credit: June 20th is officially Audie Murphy Day in Texas... Murphy originally tried to join the Marines but was turned down for being too short.
Other Allied heroes of World War II include Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Claus Von Stauffenberg and Winston Churchill.
Four Good Links
Audie Murphy Memorial Site
Big, deep, admiring homage to Murphy
Audie Murphy Biography
The U.S. Army remembers its famous hero
Audie Murphy Filmography
Includes some biographical details
Congressional Medal of Honor Society
A history of the medal; see the "Recipients" link for Murphy and others
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
28 May 1971
(airplane crash, age 46)
Best Known As
Highly-decorated WW II soldier
