Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy in military uniform.

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1925 - May 28, 1971) was an American actor and World War II hero. He is famous for acting as himself in the movie *To Hell and Back*, based on an autobiography he wrote in 1949.

## Early Life

Audie Leon Murphy was born on June 20, 1925 to poor Texas sharecroppers. After his father Emit Murphy left the family, he quit school to earn money picking cotton and helped raise his siblings. But when his mother died when he was 16 years old, his siblings were taken to relatives or orphanages. "Seeking an escape from this difficult life, Murphy enlisted in the Army in 1942" when he was 17 years old, faking his birth certificate to make it look like he was old enough to join the military.

## World War II

After training in North Africa, his Army division was moved to Sicily, Italy, and Murphy was promoted to corporal. However, he caught malaria while fighting in Italy, but that didn't stop him from fighting. Later, in August of 1944, Murphy's division was moved to France, where he witnessed his best friend, Lattie Tipton, get killed by the Nazis. Seeking vengeance, Murphy went on to kill "hundreds of Germans in combat, and ... once jumped onto a burning tank destroyer to turn its machine gun on enemy troops." He was awarded various medals, with the Army stating that "there will never be another Audie Murphy."

## Post-War

In 1949, Audie Murphy published his autobiography, "To Hell and Back," and it became a national bestseller. That same year, Murphy married young actress Wanda Hendrix, but later divorced a year later due to what is now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affecting Murphy's mental stability. He later went on to marry Pamela Archer in 1951, and she gave birth to Terry Michael and James Shannon.

### Acting

In 1948, he appeared in the movie *Beyond Glory*, jumpstarting his acting career. A year later, he had his first starring role was in 1949's *Bad Boy.* In total, Murphy was in a total of 44 movies, including 1955's *To Hell and Back*. *To Hell and Back* is a movie based on Murphy's autobiography from 1949. The movie was a smash hit at box offices, and became the #1 highest-grossing film until the movie *Jaws* was released in 1975.

### Songwriting and Poetry

Additionally, Murphy was a good writer, and he wrote a couple of poems and songs, some of which were performed by singers like Dean Martin. His biggest song hits were *When the Wind Blows in Chicago* and *Shutters and Boards*.

### PTSD

Audie Murphy suffered from what we now call PTSD. "In an effort to draw attention to the problems of returning Korean and Vietnam War veterans, Audie Murphy spoke-out candidly about his personal problems with PTSD, then known as "Battle Fatigue"." He called for the U.S. government to pay more attention to mental health issues faced by returning soldiers like himself.

## Death

On May 28, 1971, Audie Leon Murphy died at age 45 "when his private plane crashed." He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery (pictured above) with full military honors. Before his death, Murphy wasted his life on gambling, other women, and bad financial decisions. And yet, "Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," said his wife, Pamela Archer Murphy in an interview.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Biography.com. Biography.com Editors. April 3, 2014. "Audie Murphy." https://www.biography.com/military-figures/audie-murphy
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Encyclopedia Britannica. Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Audie Murphy." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Audie-Murphy
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 IMDb. "To Hell and Back." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048729/
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Amazon. Murphy, Audie. "To Hell and Back." https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Back-Audie-Murphy/dp/0805070869
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Google Books. Murphy, Audie. "To Hell and Back." https://books.google.com/books/about/To\_Hell\_and\_Back.html?id=hpAqyYCVnG8C
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 U.S. Army. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Gregg-Adams. "Sergeant Audie Murphy Award." Biography. https://home.army.mil/greggadams/about/Garrison/sergeant-audie-murphy-award
7. ↑ Arlington National Cemetery. "Audie Murphy." https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Medal-of-Honor-Recipients/World-War-II-MoH-recipients/Audie-Murphy
8. ↑ IMDb. "Wanda Hendrix." Biography. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0376905/bio/
9. ↑ Hill Jr. College Press, 1975. Simpson, Harold B. "Audie Murphy, American Soldier." pg. 391.
10. ↑ Audie L. Murphy Memorial Website. "MOVIES OF AUDIE MURPHY: A complete list of movies, credits, descriptions, and photos." https://www.audiemurphy.com/movies.htm
11. ↑ IMDb. "Beyond Glory." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040158/
12. ↑ Find a Grave. "Pamela Opal Lee “Pam” *Archer* Murphy." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51117433/pamela-opal\_lee-murphy