The Kid From Texas

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1926 – May 28, 1971) was a much-decorated American soldier who served in the European Theater during World War II. He later became an actor, appearing in 44 American films, and also found some success as a country music composer.

In 27 months of combat action, Murphy became one of the most highly decorated United States soldiers of World War II. He received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, along with 32 additional U.S. and foreign medals and citations, including five from France and one from Belgium.

Murphy's successful movie career included the extremely popular To Hell and Back (1955), which was based on his book of the same name (1949.) He also starred in an impressive 33 Hollywood Western films. He died in a plane crash in 1971 and was interred, with full military honors, in Arlington National Cemetery. Audie Murphy's gravesite is the second-most visited grave at Arlington, after that of President John F. Kennedy.

Murphy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his return from the war. He was plagued by insomnia, bouts of depression, and nightmares related to his numerous battles. His first wife, Wanda Hendrix, often talked of his struggle with this condition, even claiming that he had at one time held her at gunpoint. For a time during the mid-1960s, he became dependent on doctor-prescribed sleeping pills called Placidyl. When he recognized that he had become addicted to the drug, he locked himself in a motel room where he took himself off the pills, going through withdrawal for a week.

Movie career

After seeing the young hero's photo on the cover of the July 16 edition of Life Magazine and sensing star potential, actor James Cagney invited Murphy to Hollywood in September 1945. Despite Cagney's expectations, the next few years in California were difficult for Murphy. He became disillusioned by the lack of work, was frequently broke, and slept on the floor of a gymnasium owned by his friend Terry Hunt. He eventually received token acting parts in the 1948 films Beyond Glory and Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven. His third movie, Bad Boy (1949 film), gave him his first leading role. He also starred in the 1951 adaptation of Stephen Crane's Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, which earned critical success. Murphy expressed great discomfort in playing himself in To Hell and Back. In 1959, he starred in the western No Name on the Bullet, in which his performance was well-received despite being cast as the villain, a professional killer who managed to stay within the law