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Audie Murphy is the most decorated US soldier in history. He won every single award for valor the Army issued as well as the Medal of Honor and a number of French and Belgium medals for his efforts in WWII.
Born in Texas to dirt poor sharecroppers, his father abandoned the family early on, and his mother later died of pneumonia when he was only 16. Shortly after his mom's death, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and with a desire to enlist, his sister helped him change the date on his birth certificate so he could join the military. The Marines and Navy turned him down (he was 5'5" and weighed 110 lbs) but the Army finally took him and he began Basic Training in June 1942.
He fought in the Invasion of Sicily, Anzio, France, and later single-handily held off Germans in the Vosges Mountains and led an attack against them even though he was out of ammo and badly injured. He later received a commision to the rank of lieutenant for his leadership and courage and the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in this campaign.
After the war, Audie suffered from what is now called PTSD and reportedly took an assortment of sleeping pills every night. He famously slept with a loaded gun under his pillow and would wake up disoriented and waving his pistol about. It happened so often he installed a complicated door lock on his bedroom door to slow him down enough so that he could come out from under the cloud of the sleeping pills before he mistakenly hurt someone. Even with the lock, he reportedly held his wife at gunpoint on more than one occasion.
Murphy became a singer-songwriter and acted in more than 40 movies. He also wrote, sold, and recorded several hit songs. Though his movies were profitable, movie stars weren't paid particularly well back then and after his movie career faded, he faced severe money problems due to bad investments with horse farms and a gambling and drug addiction problem. Even with few job offers, he turned down alcohol and cigarette commercials because he didn't want to be a bad influence.
At age 45, he was flying to Virginia for a charity fundraiser and the plane he was riding in crashed into the side of mountain. Murphy and the plane's 6 occupants all died.
Born in Texas to dirt poor sharecroppers, his father abandoned the family early on, and his mother later died of pneumonia when he was only 16. Shortly after his mom's death, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and with a desire to enlist, his sister helped him change the date on his birth certificate so he could join the military. The Marines and Navy turned him down (he was 5'5" and weighed 110 lbs) but the Army finally took him and he began Basic Training in June 1942.
He fought in the Invasion of Sicily, Anzio, France, and later single-handily held off Germans in the Vosges Mountains and led an attack against them even though he was out of ammo and badly injured. He later received a commision to the rank of lieutenant for his leadership and courage and the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in this campaign.
After the war, Audie suffered from what is now called PTSD and reportedly took an assortment of sleeping pills every night. He famously slept with a loaded gun under his pillow and would wake up disoriented and waving his pistol about. It happened so often he installed a complicated door lock on his bedroom door to slow him down enough so that he could come out from under the cloud of the sleeping pills before he mistakenly hurt someone. Even with the lock, he reportedly held his wife at gunpoint on more than one occasion.
Murphy became a singer-songwriter and acted in more than 40 movies. He also wrote, sold, and recorded several hit songs. Though his movies were profitable, movie stars weren't paid particularly well back then and after his movie career faded, he faced severe money problems due to bad investments with horse farms and a gambling and drug addiction problem. Even with few job offers, he turned down alcohol and cigarette commercials because he didn't want to be a bad influence.
At age 45, he was flying to Virginia for a charity fundraiser and the plane he was riding in crashed into the side of mountain. Murphy and the plane's 6 occupants all died.
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