Murphy, Audie

Murphy, Audie (Leon)

(born June 20, 1924, near Kingston, Texas, U.S.—died May 28, 1971, near Roanoke, Va.) U.S. war hero and actor. Enlisting in the army in 1942, he became the most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II. He killed hundreds of Germans, and he once jumped onto a burning tank destroyer to turn its machine gun on enemy troops. In 1945 he received the Congressional Medal of Honor. On the strength of his heroic status, he became a movie actor after the war, starring in films such as The Red Badge of Courage (1951), To Hell and Back (1955), and The Quiet American (1958). He died when his private plane crashed. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honours.

---

Murphy, Audie (1924–71) soldier, actor; born near Kingston, Tenn. The most decorated American soldier of World War II, he won the Congressional Medal of Honor during the fighting in the Colmar Pocket, Germany, in 1945. He appeared in the war adventure films Beyond Glory (1948) and To Hell and Back (1948).