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On 28 May 1971, Murphy was killed when the private plane in which he was a passenger crashed into the side of a mountain 14 nautical miles (16 mi; 26 km) northwest of Roanoke, Virginia, [198] in conditions of rain, clouds, fog, and zero visibility.
Jun 1, 1971 · ROANOKE, Va., May 31— Audie Murphy, the nation's most‐decorated hero of World War II, and five other men were found dead today in the wreckage of their light plane near the summit of a craggy,...
Jan 23, 2015 · The 19-year-old U.S. soldier personally killed or wounded some 50 German troops, earning the Medal of Honor for one of WWII's most astonishing battlefield actions.
- Audie Murphy’s Early Life and Enlistment
- How Audie Murphy Won The Medal of Honor
- From The Front Lines to Hollywood Fame
- How Did Audie Murphy Die?
By the time he was 20 years old, Audie Leon Murphy had achieved worldwide renown. But his early years were difficult. One of 11 children, Murphy was born on June 20, 1925, to a family of poor sharecroppers in Texas. And he took on a very heavy load at a young age. His father abandoned the family. His mother died. And to feed his siblings, Murphy to...
By January 1945, Audie Murphy had already wontwo Silver Stars and the Distinguished Service Cross. And at just 19 years old, he was now in command of his own unit. But Murphy would be tested on January 26, in Holtzwihr, France, an area that was also known as the Colmar Pocket. On that day, Murphy and his men were holding a roadway and awaiting rein...
After Audie Murphy appeared on the cover of LIFEin July 1945, he caught the eye of actor James Cagney, who believed Murphy could conquer Hollywood. James and his brother, Bill, encouraged Murphy to become an actor. Though Murphy believed he had “no talent,” he followed their advice and moved to Hollywood, where he nabbed a bit part in 1948’s Beyond...
Despite his success on the battlefield — both real and made up — Audie Murphy never fully shook the ghosts of war. When once asked how some people survived a war, Murphy responded: “I don’t think they ever do.” Haunted by the “boys who never came back,” Murphy slept with a pistol under his pillow and experienced many common symptoms of post-traumat...
From Murphy’s exposed position on top of the burning tank destroyer, he killed over 20 German soldiers and repelled their attack. For more than an hour, Murphy continued to fire the machine gun, despite being wounded in the leg.
- Malloryk
Staff Sergeant Murphy landed near Ramatuelle, France, with the first wave of the assault infantry, at 0800 hours, 15 August 1944, until halted by intense machine gun and small arms fire from a boulder-covered hill to his front.
Murphy suffered from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder, experiencing headaches, depression and nightmares; he once said that he could sleep only with a loaded pistol under his pillow. In 1971, at the age of 46, Murphy died in the crash of a private plane near Roanoke, Virginia.
