NCOs in the American Army (1925-1945): Audie L. Murphy

Abstract

Audie Leon Murphy was born on 20 June 1924 in a farmhouse. He was the son of a tenant cotton farmer or sharecropper. He grew up in Hunt County, near Kingston, Texas. He was named Audie after a neighbor, and his middle name "Leon" was given by his oldest sister, Corinne. Audie was the seventh child, and third son. His father was Emmett (Pat) Murphy and his mother was Josie Bell Murphy. Her maiden name was Killian. She gave birth to a total of twelve children, three died before their 18th birthday. The family was poor and food was scarce. When Audie was 12 he left school and started to work in order to help provide for the family. In 1939, at the age of 15, Audie left home and lived hand to mouth. Early in 1940 Audie's father left home. Audie came back home and helped his mother until her death on 23 May 1941. Audie was sixteen with a fifth grade education when his mother died. After his mother's death, Audie was forced to place the three youngest siblings in an orphanage.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 03, 2006
Accession Number
AD1137224

Entities

People

  • Michael L. Ables

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Ammunition
  • Army
  • Basic Training
  • California
  • Death
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Education
  • Families (Human)
  • Governments
  • Infantry
  • North Africa
  • Second World War
  • Training
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • Archaeological Resource Survey
  • Military History
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.