War Hero Cowboy
Audie Murphy, a boy from a poor family, who quit school in the fifth grade, attempted to join the marines and the navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor but was underage and too small. In 1942 his sister “modified” his birth record so that he could enlist and the army took him, which resulted in his becoming the most decorated American in World War II. Known for his baby face and his “light up the world” smile Murphy fought like a warrior in the European Theatre and was awarded every American service medal available at the time, including three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Legion of Merit plus five medals from France and one from Belgium. After the war, his fame sent him to Hollywood where he made a movie that was adapted from his autobiography, To Hell and Back that was the largest grossing film in Hollywood history until 1975 when Steven Spielberg’s Jaws came out. He was largely thought of as a cowboy actor, for his 33 westerns, where the clean faced Murphy won the west with his grin more that his guns. Above all else, Audie Murphy was an against all odds hero, whose bravery overrode his size, his youth, and his lack of education. After a battle where he singlehandedly took out a German platoon, saving the lives of the nineteen men under his command he was asked what made him risk it all and fight until he was wounded beyond mobility. His answer – “they were shooting at my friends”.
