Audie Murphy is a good example of the American dream. His story is one that Americans love and admire. The story of the underdog whose journey starts rough, but ends up successful in the end.
Murphy was born to a poor sharecropping family in Texas on June 20, 1925 as the seventh of twelve children. He grew up rough. His father was in and out of his life and eventually abandoned the family. He had to drop out of school in the fifth grade to pick cotton for a dollar a day.
After his mother died in 1941 he repaired radio’s to make money. Then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and he wanted to join the military. He was rejected because of his age and he was very small. He was very short and he was severely underweight. Eventually his sister was able to falsify an affidavit claiming he was a year older than he really was, and he joined the Army in June of 1942.
In battle, Murphy was an absolute warrior. He fought in Sicily where he earned a Bronze Star for killing the crew on a German tank, then he snuck out and blew up the tank with rifle grenades. Murphy was then moved to the European Theater.
While in the European Theater, Murphy saw a lot of battle. He earned another Bronze Star, two Silver Stars, a Distinguished Service Cross, and three Purple Hearts.
His most famous exploit was on January 26, 1945 when he single-handedly stopped a German attack. He was leading a company of men in France when six German tanks and several hundred German soldiers attacked them. He ordered his men to fall back into the woods while he called in artillery to slow the German advance. German fire set an American tank destroyer on fire near Murphy’s position, but Murphy got on the tank anyway and he started firing the 50 caliber machine gun that was attached to it. He stayed atop that tank for more than an hour firing that 50 caliber machine gun. Oh by the way, he did this while knowing the tank could blow up any minute, and he had hundreds of German soldiers advancing on his position. He killed or wounded over 50 German soldiers while on the abandoned tank and only left his position after the machine gun ran out of ammunition. He was also wounded in the leg during the attack. Eventually he fell back and joined his men in the woods where he organized a counterattack against the Germans that resulted in over 50 dead or wounded German soldiers. For his actions, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor. Murphy was the most decorated soldier in World War II.
After the war, Murphy received a warm welcome home with many events held in his honor. Actor James Cagney suggested he go into Hollywood, and he did. Murphy appeared in several films in the late 1940s. Murphy’s Hollywood career really took off when he starred in The Red Badge of Courage in 1951. In 1955 he starred in To Hell and Back which was based off of his autobiography. He was at first reluctant to play himself in the movie, but he was eventually convinced to take the lead role. To Hell and Back was a huge success and it was the biggest hit in Universal Studios history. Overall, Murphy was in 40 feature films in his career that went until 1969.
On May 28, 1971, Murphy and four others were killed in a plane crash 20 miles west of Roanoke, Virginia due to poor weather conditions. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Audie Murphy’s legacy is one of Hollywood stardom as well as heroism and bravery. He should not only be remembered for his great movie career, but for his actions in battle as well. So Happy Birthday to Audie Murphy, an American badass.