Audie Murphy's Homecoming, June 15, 1945
Farmersville, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
With Allied victory in World War II Europe secured, Farmersville celebrated the return of the area's most famous citizen soldier. On his 18th birthday, Audie Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Greenville Post Office. In more than two years of combat, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France and earned every Army citation for valor, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. His homecoming drew an audience of several thousand to the town square. Life Magazine's July 16, 1945 issue made the Farmersville ceremony and Murphy's family reunion its cover story, commemorating the efforts of a grateful nation and hometown. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On his 18th birthday Audie Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army, and over more than two years of combat across North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France he became the most decorated American soldier of World War II, earning every Army valor citation, including the Medal of Honor. When he came home to Farmersville on June 15, 1945, thousands packed the town square, and Life magazine put the reunion on its cover.
Why it matters
Murphy's homecoming embodied a grateful nation's embrace of its citizen-soldiers at the close of World War II.
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Related people
- · Audie Murphy
Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
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