Audie Murphy

Shortly after arriving, Murphy was promoted to corporal after killing two Italian officers as they tried to escape on horseback. He contracted malaria while in Sicily, an illness which put him in the hospital several times during his Army years.

After Sicily was secured from Axis forces, the 3rd Division invaded the Italian mainland, landing near Salerno in September 1943. While leading a night patrol, Murphy and his men ran into German soldiers but fought their way out of an ambush, taking cover in a quarry. The German command sent a squad of soldiers in, but they were stopped by intense machine-gun and rifle fire. Three German soldiers were killed and several others captured. As a result of his actions at Salerno, Murphy was promoted to sergeant.

He distinguished himself in action on many occasions while in Italy, fighting at the Volturno River, at the Anzio beachhead, and in the cold, wet Italian mountains. While in Italy, his skills as a combat infantryman earned him promotions and decorations for valor. Following its participation in the Italian campaign, the 3rd Division landed in Southern France on August 15, 1944 as part of Operation Dragoon. Shortly thereafter, Murphy's best friend, Lattie Tipton (referred to as "Brandon" in Murphy's book To Hell and Back), was killed by a German soldier in a machine gun nest who was feigning surrender. Murphy went into a rage and single-handedly wiped out the German machine gun crew which had just killed his friend. Read Less

The official U.S. representative at the ceremony was decorated World War II veteran and future President George H. W. Bush. Murphy's grave site is in Section 46, headstone number 46-366-11, located across Memorial Drive from the Amphitheater. A special flagstone walkway was later constructed to accommodate the large number of people who visit to pay their respects. It is the second most-visited grave site, after that of President John F. Kennedy.

The headstones of Medal of Honor recipients buried at Arlington National Cemetery are normally decorated in gold leaf. Murphy previously requested that his stone remain plain and inconspicuous, like that of an ordinary soldier. An unknown person maintains a small American flag next to his engraved Government-issue headstone, which reads as follows:

Key to abbreviations: DSC = Distinguished Service Cross; SS = Silver Star; LM = Legion of Merit; BSM = Bronze Star Medal; PH = Purple Heart; OLC = Oak Leaf Cluster.) Read Less

However, Hoffa was freed seven months after Murphy's death and no forensic evidence has arisen to suggest the plane crash was in any way connected to the Hoffa case or not the result of an accident.

A number of schools and other buildings have been named after Murphy, and he has been the subject of several statues. Read Less

Murphy was born in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas, to poor sharecroppers of Irish descent, Emmett Berry Murphy (February 20, 1886–September 20, 1976), and his wife, Josie Bell (née Killian; 1891–1941) He grew up on farms in the Farmersville and Greenville areas, and near Celeste, Texas. He was the sixth of twelve children, two of whom died before reaching adulthood. His siblings were, by age in descending order: Elizabeth Corinne (May 5, 1910 – March 28, 1980), Charles Emmett "Buck" Vernon (b. 1915 – d. 1919), Ariel June, Oneta (b. 1918 – d. 1919), J.W. (b. 1920 – d. 1920), Richard Houston (b. February 16, 1926 – d. 1954 or 1959), Eugene Porter, Verda Nadine, Willie Beatrice "Billie", and Joseph Preston (b. February 19, 1935 – d. January 29, 1968). Read Less