Audie Murphy: An American Hero

In 1989 I was a private in basic training at Fort Benning Georgia United States Army Infantry School. In a classroom setting, for a reason that I cannot recall, one of my drill sergeants said “you’re no Audie Murphy.” I made the rookie mistake of asking “Who is Audie Murphy?” The room went silent. I did not know why, but I knew something was wrong because all three of my drill instructors including the senior drill instructor stared at me like I dropped my rifle. The senior drill instructor said, “You’re in the Army and you don’t know who Audie Murphy is?” In a stern voice he told me to find out then report back to tell him about Audie Murphy. I asked other people in the class, and I learned quickly that Audie Murphy is one of the most well-known Army war heroes in our nation’s history.

Audie Murphy grew in a large but poor family on a cotton farm near Kingston Texas about fifty-five miles outside of Dallas (Hubler 1). His father left the family when Audie was a teenager and his mother died not long after. Audie became the head of the household. He dropped out of high school to pick cotton for a short time making very little money for his family (1). He hunted every day with a borrowed rifle, and when he could not borrow the rifle he used a slingshot. Audie did his best to keep the family together, but with most of his sisters married, his brothers gone, and three of the younger siblings in an orphanage, Audie joined the Army in 1942. Most of the money he earned in the Army he sent back to the orphanage (2).

America was at war with Germany and Japan. Some of Audie’s missions in World War II included the Sicily landing where he killed his first enemy soldier during the Anzio beachhead invasion in Italy (Hubler 2). During the Eu...

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...at Arlington National Cemetery be identical to other headstones instead of the gold inlay normally given to Medal of Honor recipients (“Audie Murphy” 1). He has been an inspiration to me as well as many others who served, are serving, and others who admire celebrity.

Works Cited

“Audie L. Murphy.” New American (08856540) 24.15 (2008): 36. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

“Audie Murphy. Biography.” Biography True Story. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

“Audie Murphy.” Find a Grave. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

“Movies of Audie Murphy.” Audie Murphy Research Foundation. 1996. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

Hubler, Richard G. “He Doesn't Want To Be A Star.” Saturday Evening Post 225.42 (1953): 34-158. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.

Rains, Noah. “Audie Murphy: War Hero and Movie Star.” East Texas Historical Journal 47.1 (2009): 79-80. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.