Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 – May 28, 1971), was the United States' most decorated combat soldier of World War II. He later became an actor and singer/songwriter.
Among his thirty three awards and decorations was the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." Murphy received every decoration for valor that the U.S. had to offer, some of them more than once, and five decorations by France and Belgium. He served three years active service as a combat soldier in World War II. Murphy was released from the Army as an active member and reassigned to inactive status on September 21, 1945.
Audie Murphy and his wife, Pamela Archer.Audie Murphy was the son of poor Texas sharecroppers, Emmett and Josie Bell Murphy. He was born near Kingston, Texas (Hunt County). He grew up in nearby Celeste, Texas (Hunt County). He went to school in Celeste until the eighth grade when he dropped out to help raise his family. He also lived in the rural area of Farmersville and later at Greenville, Texas. Murphy was the sixth of twelve children, only nine of whom survived to see their eighteenth birthday. Food was scarce and the Murphy family was very poor. Before his ninth birthday, he had become a decent shot, hunting rabbits and squirrels to help put food on the table. Sometimes he could only afford a single shell in his rifle to supply meat for his family of nine brothers and sisters. He became a very good shot, a skill which served him well later in life. In 1936, when Murphy was twelve, his father Emmett Murphy, deserted the family and never returned. At twelve, Murphy left school and was hired out as a farmer's helper, ploughing and picking cotton at a dollar a day to help make ends meet. He also went to work in a combination general store, garage and filling station in Greenville, Texas. At sixteen, Audie was working in a radio repair shop when tragedy struck again. He became an orphan when his mother, Josie Bell, died. He had to place the three youngest siblings in an orphanage according to his mother's last wish.
Audie Murphy fought in World War II with such courage that he received every decoration for valor that the United States had to offer, plus another five decorations that were presented to him by Belgium and France. He was the most decorated U.S. soldier during WWII. Part of M
