Audie Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated United States Army combat soldiers of World War II, serving from 1942 to 1945. He received every American combat award for valor available at the time of his service, including the Medal of Honor. He also received recognitions from France and Belgium. With his 1945 military discharge at the end of the war, Murphy became an advocate of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. The Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio and the Sergeant Audie Murphy Clubs (SAMC) on military bases honor his contributions. He joined the Texas National Guard in 1950, transferring to reserve status in 1956 and remaining in the Guard until 1969. He also had a civilian career as a film actor and songwriter. Recognitions he received both during his lifetime and posthumously are listed below.
Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France. On 25 February 1945 and 3 March 1945, he received two Silver Stars for further heroic actions. The French government awarded Murphy its Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and two Croix de guerre medals. He received the Croix de guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium. The military assisted him with replacement medals after he gave away the originals. Duplicates of his Medal of Honor and other medals can be viewed at Dallas Scottish Rite Temple museum.
First award for action on 2 October 1944, Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 66 (25 February 1945). Second award for action on 5 October 1944, Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 83 (3 March 1945).
First award with "V" Device for action on 2 March 1944, Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 84 (4 March 1945). Second award for action on 8 May 1944.
First award with 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment for action 27–29 August 1944. Second award with the 3rd Infantry Division for action at the Colmar Pocket, 22 January – 6 February 1945.
United States Army public service award established January 1959. It was awarded to Murphy in 1961 for his technical assistance on the Army's documentary The Broken Bridge.
Murphy attested at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, on 21 August 1945 that he had never received the Good Conduct Medal. He was awarded the medal the same day by Lieutenant Colonel H. Miller Ainsworth.
Awarded for military service between 7 December 1941, and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive, the medal was authorized by Public Law 135, 79th United States Congress.
For his service in the U.S. Army Officers' Reserve Corps and in the Texas National Guard. The medal was created by Executive Order10163, signed by President Harry Truman on 25 September 1950. It is awarded for ten years service in the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Decoration approved by the French government on 16 April 1945. Presented 19 September 1945 in Dallas by Brigadier General W. E. Collier, Chief of Staff for the 8th Service Command.
Decoration conferred by Royal Order 4282 on 10 December 1955. The award and documentation were forwarded to the State Department to be held until the United States Congress authorized the acceptance and wearing of it. Murphy was notified by the Army on 14 March 1968, that he was allowed to accept the award.
U.S. Soldiers reenactment of Audie Murphy military biography, SAMC, Fort Gordon, Ga., 12 Dec 2009
In September 1986, the Command Sergeant Major George L. Horvath III, III Corps Commander Lieutenant GeneralCrosbie E. Saint and several others established the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club at Fort Hood, Texas. The official club crest was designed by club co-founder Don Moore. Since 1994, other units of the U.S. Army have established chapters of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club (SAMC) as exclusive clubs to honor noncommissioned officers (Corporal E-4 through Sergeant First Class E-7) who have acted in a manner consistent with the actions of Audie Murphy. In 2012 a bronze bust created by Mark and Jenelle Byrd for display in the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club Room in Snow Hall was unveiled at Fort Sill, Oklahoma .
U.S. government, military and veterans organizations
1972 – Audie Murphy Gym dedicated at Fort Benning, Georgia. Its 2009 renovation included a name change to the Audie Murphy Athletic Performance Center.
1985 – 6-foot (1.8 m) bronze statue at Camp Mabry, sculpted by West Texas artist Bill Leftwich, sponsored by the Texas National Guard.
30 May 1996 – Texas Congressman Ralph Hall commemorated the 25th anniversary of Murphy's death by reading "In Memory of Major Audie L. Murphy" and Murphy's poems, "Alone and Far Removed" and "Freedom Flies in Your Heart Like an Eagle" into the Congressional Record.
28 May 2006 – a 16-by-8-inch (41 cm × 20 cm) commemorative plaque unveiled at Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, California.
September 2008 – American Legion Audie Murphy Post 336 chartered, San Antonio, Texas.
Date unknown – Audie Murphy Award sponsored by the American Veterans Center, honoring veterans of World War II.
Texas (non-military)
1948 – Audie Murphy Arena, near Euless, Texas, was dedicated as a venue for the yearly Audie Murphy Rodeo. In 1952 the Rodeo moved to Stephenville, Texas, where it closed during the mid 1950s.
2 July 1949 – Murphy made an honorary Texas Ranger and chosen to lead the Texas Ranger Day parade in Brooks County.
1951 – Artist Kipp Soldwedel commissioned to paint Murphy's portrait, now owned by the State of Texas and hung in various locations in the Texas State Capitol.
1962 – Dallas artist Dmitri Vail commissioned to paint Murphy's portrait, believed to be owned by Murphy's family.
1973 – Texas State Historical Marker 7820 installed in Celeste, denoting Murphy's one-time residency.
1973 – Texas State Historical Marker 7821 installed in Kingston, denoting Murphy's birthplace.
20 June 1996 – Texas Legislature officially declared his birthdate as "Audie Murphy Day".
1999, Memorial Day – Pink granite obelisk at Texas State Cemetery dedicated listing the names of all Texas-born Medal of Honor recipients, including Murphy.
22 June 2002 – Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum, Greenville, 10-foot (3.0 m) 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) hollow bronze statue of Murphy sculpted by Gordon Thomas.
2010 – Audie Murphy Middle School established in Alamo.
Other U.S. states
1971 – Audie Murphy Patriotism Award. When Murphy's death on 28 May 1971, aborted his scheduled appearance at that year's 4 July Spirit of America Festival in Decatur, Alabama, the festival created the annual award in his memory.
11 November 1972 – Patriotic Hall. Los Angeles, California, 21.75 inches (0.552 m) by 31.75 inches (0.806 m) commemorative plaque listing medals won by Murphy during World War II.
10 November 1974 – Mounted plaque erected at Brush Mountain, Virginia, by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5311 of Christiansburg, Virginia, to commemorate the site of Murphy's death.
Non-United States
17 July 1948 – In Paris, Murphy made an honorary member in the 159th French Alpine Regiment.
14 October 1991 – Sierra Leone issued a postage stamp, Le 2 value, honors Murphy in To Hell and Back (Scott No. 1409).
18 October 1993 – Guyana issued a postage stamp of Murphy in uniform as part of a nine-stamp sheet in tribute to "World War II on the Silver Screen".
29 January 2000 – Holtzwihr artist Patrick Baumann designed a commemorative plaque depicting Murphy on a tank destroyer, affixed to a wall at the site of the Medal of Honor action.
2001 – Republic of Palau Murphy commemorative stamp part of a four-stamp sheet "Remembering VJ Day".
9 June 2013 – Second free-standing commemorative plaque depicting Murphy firing the .50 caliber machine gun atop the tank unveiled at Holtzwihr by local authorities, the U.S. Consul General in Strasbourg, and representatives from American social organizations based in the Alsace region.
Entertainment industry
Date unknown – Historical marker at Kanab, Utah's Walk of Fame denoting movies Murphy made in the state.
In November 2000, Murphy was posthumously awarded the Scottish Rite Masonry 33rd Degree in Long Beach, California, presented to his widow Pamela. From 1955 until his death, Murphy was a member of numerous Scottish Rite lodges in California and Texas. The Murat Shriners of Indianapolis, Indiana, provided the below timeline of Murphy's degrees and lodge associations.
1955
14 February – Entered Apprentice degree, North Hollywood Lodge No. 542
4 April – Fellowcraft degree
27 June – Master Mason degree
1956 – Second North Hollywood membership, Magnolia Park No. 618
1957
11–14 November – degree work and 32nd degree Scottish Rite Temple in Dallas
Thomas B. Hunter Memorial Class vice president
15 November – Hella Temple, Dallas shriner
1965
14 November – Master of the Royal Secret, Valley of Dallas, Orient of Texas
11–1 December, 965 Knight Commander of the Court of Honor KCCH
1971
19 March – Al Malaikah Temple in Los Angeles
2 April – Long Beach Scottish Rite Bodies
Books
Murphy, Audie (2002) [1949]. To Hell and Back. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN978-0-8050-7086-6.
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