Audie Murphy looked like the perfect American hero, but behind the medals and movie posters, his life was filled with secrets, fear, and astonishing choices. He slept with a loaded pistol, terrified his first wife during a nightmare, gambled away a fortune, and nearly played one of Hollywood’s most disturbing villains. Yet even those moments barely hint at the battles he fought for decades. And the final chapter may be the most shocking of all.
#1: Audie Murphy Is Born into a Large Texas Sharecropping Family
Audie Leon Murphy was born near Kingston in Hunt County, Texas, on June 20, most likely in 1925. He was the seventh of twelve children born to Emmett Berry Murphy and Josie Bell Killian Murphy.
The large family depended on sharecropping and whatever income the land provided. From an early age, Audie watched his parents struggle to keep their children clothed and fed. Those hardships would soon force him to grow up quickly.