Audie Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated United States Army combat soldiers of World War II, serving from 1942 to 1945. He received every American combat award for valor available at the time of his service, [ALM 1] including the Medal of Honor. He also received recognitions from France and Belgium. With his 1945 military discharge at the end of the war, Murphy became an advocate of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. [3] The Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio and the Sergeant Audie Murphy Clubs (SAMC) on military bases honor his contributions. He joined the Texas National Guard in 1950, transferring to reserve status in 1956 and remaining in the Guard until 1969. He also had a civilian career as a film actor and songwriter. Recognitions he received both during his lifetime and posthumously are listed below.
Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France. [4] On 25 February 1945 and 3 March 1945, he received two Silver Stars for further heroic actions. [5] The French government awarded Murphy its Chevalier of the Legion of Honor [6] and two Croix de guerre medals. [7] [8] He received the Croix de guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium. [8] The military assisted him with replacement medals after he gave away the originals. [ALM 2] Duplicates of his Medal of Honor and other medals can be viewed at Dallas Scottish Rite Temple museum.
U.S. military personal decorations | |||
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Image | Decoration | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | Medal of Honor | For action on 26 January 1945, War Department, General Orders No. 65, 9 August 1945. | [ALM 3] |
![]() | Distinguished Service Cross | For action on 15 August 1944, Headquarters, Seventh U.S. Army, General Orders No. 21 (1945). | [ALM 4] |
Silver Star with bronze oak leaf cluster (two awards) | First award for action on 2 October 1944, Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division, General Orders No. 66 (25 February 1945). Second award for action on 5 October 1944, Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division, General Orders No. 83 (3 March 1945). | [16] | |
![]() | Legion of Merit | For action on 22 January 1944 – 18 February 1945, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 100 (25 May 1945). | [17] |
Bronze Star with "V" Device and bronze oak leaf cluster (two awards) | First award with "V" Device for action on 2 March 1944, Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division, General Orders No. 84 (4 March 1945). Second award for action on 8 May 1944. | [18] | |
Purple Heart with two bronze oak leaf clusters (three awards) | For wounds received 15 September 1944, 26 October 1944, and 25 January 1945. | [19] |
U.S. military unit awards | |||
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Image | Award | Notes | Refs. |
Presidential Unit Citation with First Oak Leaf Cluster (two awards) | First award with 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment for action 27–29 August 1944. Second award with the 3rd Infantry Division for action at the Colmar Pocket, 22 January – 6 February 1945. | [20] | |
U.S. non-military personal decorations | |||
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Image | Medal | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal | United States Army public service award established January 1959. It was awarded to Murphy in 1961 for his technical assistance on the Army's documentary The Broken Bridge. | [ALM 5] |
Service and campaign medals | |||
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Image | Medal | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | Good Conduct Medal | Murphy attested at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, on 21 August 1945 that he had never received the Good Conduct Medal. He was awarded the medal the same day by Lieutenant Colonel H. Miller Ainsworth. | [23] |
![]() | American Campaign Medal | For Murphy's service in the American Theater of World War II. | [23] |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver star (counts as 5 medals), four bronze stars, and one bronze arrowhead device | For Murphy's service in the European Theater of World War II in nine campaigns. | [23] | |
![]() | World War II Victory Medal | Awarded for military service between 7 December 1941, and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive, the medal was authorized by Public Law 135, 79th United States Congress. | [23] |
![]() | Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp | For service in the occupation of Germany after the war. | [23] |
![]() | Armed Forces Reserve Medal | For his service in the U.S. Army Officers' Reserve Corps and in the Texas National Guard. The medal was created by Executive Order 10163, signed by President Harry Truman on 25 September 1950. It is awarded for ten years service in the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. | [23] |
U.S. Army badges | |||
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Image | Badge | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | Combat Infantryman Badge | Special Order No. 39, dated 8 May 1944, sixty-one officers and enlisted men of Company B, 15th Infantry were awarded the badge. | [4] |
![]() | Marksman Badge with Rifle Component Bar | Earned during basic Army training. | [24] |
![]() | Expert Badge with Bayonet Component Bar | Earned during basic Army training. | [24] |
Non-U.S. military service medals, awards and decorations | |||
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Image | Medal/award/decoration | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | French Legion of Honor – Grade of Chevalier (Knight) | Decoration presented by General de Lattre de Tassigny in Paris on 19 July 1948. | [6] |
French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star | Decoration approved by the French government on 16 April 1945. Presented 19 September 1945 in Dallas by Brigadier General W. E. Collier, Chief of Staff for the 8th Service Command. | [ALM 6] | |
![]() | French Croix de Guerre with Palm | Decoration presented in France on 19 July 1948. | [6] [8] |
![]() | Medal of a liberated France | Authorized by France 1947. | [23] |
![]() | Belgian Croix de Guerre with 1940 Palm | Decoration conferred by Royal Order 4282 on 10 December 1955. The award and documentation were forwarded to the State Department to be held until the United States Congress authorized the acceptance and wearing of it. Murphy was notified by the Army on 14 March 1968, that he was allowed to accept the award. | [8] |
![]() | French Fourragère in Colors of the Croix de Guerre | Award authorized to be worn by all members of the 3rd Infantry Division who fought in France during World War II. | [25] |
U.S. State defense forces medals | |||
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Image | Medal | Notes | Refs. |
![]() | Texas Legislative Medal of Honor | HCR3 introduced 20 July 2013, Signed by Gov Rick Perry 19 August 2013. | [ALM 7] |
Audie Murphy promotions and commissions | ||||
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Image | Rank | Service Branch | Date of promotion | Refs. |
Private | U.S. Army | 30 June 1942 | [30] | |
![]() | Private First Class | 7 May 1943 | [31] | |
![]() | Corporal | 15 July 1943 | [32] | |
![]() | Sergeant | 13 December 1943 | [33] | |
![]() | Staff Sergeant | 13 January 1944 | [30] | |
![]() | Second Lieutenant | 14 October 1944 | [34] | |
![]() | First Lieutenant | 16 February 1945 | [35] | |
U.S. Army Reserve | 21 August 1945 | [33] | ||
![]() | Captain | Texas National Guard | 14 July 1950 | [33] |
U.S. National Guard | 19 October 1950 | [33] | ||
![]() | Major | 14 February 1956 | [33] | |
Texas National Guard | [36] | |||
U.S. Army Reserve | 8 November 1966 | [33] | ||
U.S. Army Retired Reserve | 22 May 1969 | [33] |
In September 1986, the Command Sergeant Major George L. Horvath III, III Corps Commander Lieutenant General Crosbie E. Saint and several others established the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club at Fort Hood, Texas. [37] The official club crest was designed by club co-founder Don Moore. [38] Since 1994, other units of the U.S. Army have established chapters of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club (SAMC) as exclusive clubs to honor noncommissioned officers (Corporal E-4 through Sergeant First Class E-7) who have acted in a manner consistent with the actions of Audie Murphy. In 2012 a bronze bust created by Mark and Jenelle Byrd for display in the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club Room in Snow Hall was unveiled at Fort Sill, Oklahoma . [39]
In November 2000, Murphy was posthumously awarded the Scottish Rite Masonry 33rd Degree in Long Beach, California, presented to his widow Pamela. [80] From 1955 until his death, Murphy was a member of numerous Scottish Rite lodges in California and Texas. The Murat Shriners of Indianapolis, Indiana, provided the below timeline of Murphy's degrees and lodge associations. [ALM 10]
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