Who was Audie Murphy?

He was the most decorated American soldier of the Second World War (1925 to 1971), awarded the Medal of Honor, and later a film actor and advocate for veterans.

What is Audie Murphy famous for?

For his combat heroism, above all the stand near Holtzwihr in France in 1945 that earned him the Medal of Honor, and for being the most decorated US soldier of the war.

What did Audie Murphy do to earn the Medal of Honor?

In January 1945 he held off a German attack of infantry and tanks almost single-handedly, firing a machine gun from a burning tank destroyer until a counterattack could be organized.

Was Audie Murphy really an actor?

Yes. After the war he starred in many films and even played himself in 'To Hell and Back', the movie based on his wartime memoir.

Did Audie Murphy speak about combat trauma?

Yes. He spoke openly about the lasting mental toll of war, what we now call post-traumatic stress, and pressed for better support for veterans.

Where is Audie Murphy buried?

He died in a plane crash in 1971 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his grave is one of the most visited.

Audie Murphy: the most decorated soldier

Audie Murphy was a poor Texas farm boy, small and underage, who was turned away by the services before the Army finally took him. He came home the most decorated American soldier of the Second World War¹, holder of the Medal of Honor and dozens of other awards, and spent the rest of his life carrying both the fame and the wounds of what he had done.

A hard beginning

Born in 1925 into a poor Texas sharecropping family, Murphy grew up hungry and left school early to help feed his siblings. Turned away for being too young and too slight, he finally joined the Army in 1942² and was sent to fight in the Mediterranean and then in Europe.

The stand at Holtzwihr

In January 1945, near² Holtzwihr in eastern France, Murphy's company was attacked by German infantry and tanks. Ordering his men back³, he climbed onto a burning tank destroyer and used its machine gun³ to hold off the enemy alone for nearly an hour³, wounded and almost out of ammunition, until a counterattack could form. For this he received the Medal of Honor, the highest US award.

Hand-drawn army sketch map with the Riedwihr woods, arrows for the German attack and typed notes on Murphy's actions — A sketch of the ground near Holtzwihr drawn in February 1945 for Murphy's Medal of Honor recommendation, marking the burning tank destroyer where he fought on, his route and the German attacks. US National Archives. Public domain

Alone on a burning vehicle, he held off an enemy attack for nearly an hour.

Every medal

By the war's end Murphy had earned the Medal of Honor and a remarkable array of other decorations for valor, becoming, by the usual reckoning, the most decorated American soldier of the war. His boyish face and astonishing record made him a national hero when he came home.

French army citation document headed République Française with a printed medal at the top — The French army citation of 16 April 1945, issued under General de Lattre de Tassigny, awarding Murphy the Croix de Guerre with silver star, one of his many foreign decorations. US National Archives. Public domain

After the war

Murphy became a film actor, even playing himself in the movie of his memoir⁴, "To Hell and Back." He also spoke honestly about the lasting toll of combat, what we would now call post-traumatic stress⁵, and urged support for struggling veterans, at a time when few would discuss it. He died in a plane crash in 1971⁴ and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery².

Black and white photograph of a young Audie Murphy seated and writing on a wooden box — Murphy in a 1951 MGM publicity photograph for The Red Badge of Courage, in which he played the young Union soldier Henry Fleming. Public domain

Meet his peers in the greatest American commanders, or explore the greatest battles of the Second World War.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

David A. Smith, The Price of Valor: The Life of Audie Murphy, America's Most Decorated Hero of World War II (Regnery History, 2015). ↩
Arlington National Cemetery, “Audie Murphy” ↩ a b c
U.S. War Department, Medal of Honor citation, Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, Company B, 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, Action near Holtzwihr, France, 26 January 1945. ↩ a b c
Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, “Murphy, Audie Leon (Harold B. Simpson)” ↩ a b
Don Graham, No Name on the Bullet: A Biography of Audie Murphy (Viking, 1989). ↩
Wikipedia, “Audie Murphy, Wikipedia”