DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — straight from Hunt County, Texas, and every word of it is true. Now, some stories start quiet. A farm near Kingston, Texas.
A boy named Audie Murphy, born in 1925, no fanfare, no foreshadowing — just flat north Texas land and whatever a farm boy makes of himself on it. What he made of himself is something else entirely. On his seventeenth birthday in 1942, Audie Murphy joined the army.
Seventeen years old. And what followed — well, the records don't lie, even when they sound like somebody made them up. By the time World War II was over, Audie Murphy had become the most decorated soldier in the entire conflict.
Twenty-four citations for bravery in action. Twenty-four. Let that number sit with you a moment.
Among those citations: the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Distinguished Service Cross. The Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm.
The French Legion of Honor Chevalier. Decorations from multiple nations — because apparently one country's gratitude wasn't enough to cover what this man had done. He came home to the United States, and here's where the story takes its turn — because Audie Murphy didn't fade quietly into civilian life.
He stepped in front of a camera. He began a career in film, starring in pictures like The Kid from Texas and The Red Badge of Courage. But his most successful film — and this part has a certain poetry to it — was one where he played himself.
To Hell and Back. The title alone tells you something about the distance that farm near Kingston had put behind him. And then 1971.
A business trip. A plane crash. And Audie Murphy, born 1925, was gone.
He was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery — which is the only kind of ending a story like his was ever going to allow. Born near Kingston, Hunt County, Texas. Most decorated soldier in World War II.
Some farms grow more than you'd ever expect.
What the marker says
Born on a farm near Kingston, Audie Murphy (1925-1971) joined the army on his 17th birthday in 1942, and later became the most decorated soldier in WWII. He was awarded 24 citations for bravery in action, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm and the French Legion of Honor Chevalier. Upon his return to the United States, he began a career in film, starring in "The Kid from Texas," "The Red Badge of Courage" and his most successful film where he portrayed himself, "To Hell and Back." While on a business trip in 1971 Murphy's plane crashed and he was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. (1973, 2018)