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Audie Murphy Essay example

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Audie Murphy Audie Murphy was the most decorated American Army soldier of World War II. The orphaned son of Texas sharecroppers, he enlisted at age 18 and went on to win two dozen military medals for valor, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war Murphy parlayed his war time fame into a career as a movie actor, song writer, and business man. He wrote his war memoirs, To Hell and Back, and played himself in the 1955 movie of the same name. The 20th of June is officially Audie Murphy Day in Texas. Audie Murphy was born in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas. He died at Roanoke, Virginia and he was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery. Audie Murphy was born to Emmett Berry and Josie Bell Murphy who was of Irish …show more content…

He tried, but was rejected for being underage. In June 1942, shortly after his 16th birthday, his sister Corrine adjusted his birth date to make him appear 18 years old. That was the youngest legal age to be in the military, so he was allowed to join. Audie wanted to be enlisted in the Marines, but he was turned down for being too short. After that, he tried the paratroopers, but they said he didn’t have the right kind of build for the job. So finally, he was forced to settle with the United States Army. After he was enlisted, he was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas, for basic training. During a session of close order drill, he passed out! His grumpy company commander tried to have Audie transferred to a cook and bakers’ school because he thought Audie was too young and weak, but Murphy persisted on becoming a combat soldier. Finally, after 13 weeks of basic training, he was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for advanced infantry training. Audie Murphy still had a lot of trouble and had to “fight the system” to get overseas and into actual combat. But he was very persistent and his persistence finally paid off, and in early 1943, he was shipped to Casablanca, Morocco in Africa as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (United States), 3rd Infantry Division. Disappointed, Murphy didn’t see any action in Africa, but he participated in extensive training maneuvers along with the rest of the 3rd Division. On July 10th, 1943, Audie

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