Audie Murphy - A tragic hero 1924-1971 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    He was the most decorated soldier of World War II and a movie star, but many do not know the rest of his story.

    Audie was just a poor Texas boy whose father deserted his mother and eleven siblings when he was 16 years old in 1940. When the war broke out he tried to join the military but was rejected as being too small and too young.

    Eventually accepted in 1942, he went on to serve in the Army. There is some disagreement about his actual age (16 or 18) but he went on to fight in Europe as an infantryman. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. After the war, he returned to the States and became an actor. Most of his movies were B grade westerns but his boyish face and mannerism made him a popular celebrity.

    He eventually wrote about his war years in a book "To Hell and Back" which was made into a movie in 1955. I was ten years old in that year and saw the movie in the Little Five Points movie house. It made quite an impression on me. Young boys in the fifties were enamored of the war stories of our uncles and neighbors. Most of the stories were benign stories about the exploits during liberty or various non-combat tales.

    I have written about my favorite teacher Bob Dunning who was a member of the 506Th Band of Brothers. Here is the link to that post. There were basically two scenarios for a young boy to play in the early fifties. Cowboys and Indians or Army war games. To say that the fifties were a simple time is an understatement. With the war over and won, almost everyone went about earning a living and building a family,

    Audie continued to make movies well into the 1960's but eventually the western genre began to fade. He tried his hand at song writing and several business ventures but none brought him the satisfaction he sought. He died in 1971 while on a business trip. His private plane crashed. Here is an excerpt from an article about him.

    "On May 28, 1971, Murphy died along with five others in a plane crash while on a business trip. In a ceremony befitting the hero that he had once been, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Yet his passing went almost unnoticed by the media. To a nation that was torn by the Vietnam War, there was little respect for the kind of traditional military valor that a soldier like Murphy represented". Here is a short story of Audie and his life.

    What most people never really knew is that Audie Murphy, the war hero and fearless combat soldier, suffered the rest of his life from what we have now identified as PTSD. In those days, it was Combat Fatigue or Shell Shocked soldiers were expected to suck it up and move on. Not much had changed by 1971.

    There is an adrenaline rush in combat that nothing else can match. You experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You feel the rush of anticipation and the suddenness of finality when it is over usually in just a matter of seconds. There is no time to reflect on the meaning but you just move on to the next step, day or month. The human mind can endure many things and make adjustments but I believe that the body chemistry leaves a marker that cannot be erased. There are several short-term reactions to those events. You either become hyper vigilant or numb. Neither is a prescription for normalcy. Eventually the memory fades and life goes on, but the chemistry is always there waiting for just that right catalyst which will take you back. Sometimes it is a song, smell, or sudden noise.

    Audie slept with a gun under his pillow for many years. I suspect that it was not for protection but more of like a baby's pacifier. It provides some measure of security and comfort. He also had a bad gambling habit. There is something about getting shot at that makes other stimulants tame by comparison. He became addicted to sleeping pills. His strength of character showed when he locked himself up in a motel and broke his addiction cold turkey. He was never able to form a lasting relationship with male friends or females. He suffered from Survivors Guilt" most of his life. One actor who worked with him said, "He is a nice enough fellow, but when you look into his eyes you knew he could kill you without ever blinking or looking back".

    One thing that Audie did do was to bring to the attention of the Military the plight of the soldiers who suffered from whatever the hell we want to call it. Unfortunately, no one wanted to hear about it much less do anything about it. There was a generational difference between the WWII and Korean veterans and the Vietnam Veterans. Most Vietnam Veterans had never suffered the travails of life that someone born in the 1920 did. They were not prepared to 'just get over it' like their predecessors.

    Not all the medals, accolades and celebrity could cure Audie's demons. They were his constant companion as they are for almost all combat veterans. You eventually learn to make peace with them but they are always lurking in the background. Some would naively say that we should not fight wars. That would be great if you could convince that other country or enemy to refrain from fighting wars. Wars are inevitable but should be the last resort. I would prefer that my political leaders had experienced the horror of war so they would not be so quick to enter conflicts, but that would also be naive as well. Our all-volunteer military has abrogated the responsibility to serve one's country to true patriots or those who have little other options in life.

    I try not to draw any conclusions from Audie's life and death, but I can't help but wonder what our country would be like if we did not have boys like him then and now.

    There is an old saying among aging soldiers that I never appreciated until I got a little age on me.
    "Beware the old man in a world where men die young"!

    If you are ever around a veteran just do him or her a favor. Cut them a little slack. They may have something on their mind that you could never comprehend or understand but don't be afraid of them. They are no different that you or me except that their bad day at the office was just a bit more traumatic.