Birthplace of Audie Murphy
Kingston, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born on a farm near Kingston, Audie Murphy (1925-1971) joined the army on his 17th birthday in 1942, and later became the most decorated soldier in WWII. He was awarded 24 citations for bravery in action, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm and the French Legion of Honor Chevalier. Upon his return to the United States, he began a career in film, starring in "The Kid from Texas," "The Red Badge of Courage" and his most successful film where he portrayed himself, "To Hell and Back." While on a business trip in 1971 Murphy's plane crashed and he was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. (1973, 2018)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On a farm near Kingston in 1925, Audie Murphy was born into the hardscrabble life of a Texas sharecropping family. He enlisted in the army on his seventeenth birthday in 1942 and became the most decorated American soldier of World War II, honored with the Medal of Honor and a string of American and European awards for valor. He turned his fame into a Hollywood career, even portraying himself in the film of his memoir "To Hell and Back," before dying in a plane crash in 1971 and being buried at Arlington.
Why it matters
Murphy embodied the citizen-soldier ideal of the World War II generation, and his journey from a Texas farm to national hero made him one of America's most enduring wartime icons.
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Related people
- · Audie Murphy
Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Audie Murphy
Celeste, TX
Born to tenant farmers near Celeste in 1924, the sixth of nine children, Audie Murphy left school after the eighth grade and honed his marksmanship hunting for the family table. Rejected by the Marines for his slight build, he enlisted in the Army on his eighteenth birthday and became the most decorated American soldier of World War II, earning the Medal of Honor and two dozen other decorations. He later portrayed himself in the film of his memoir, To Hell and Back, before dying in a 1971 plane crash.
The Old Greenville Post Office
Greenville, TX
Greenville's post office dates to 1847, when mail was reputedly dropped at a saloon, but it moved into this Neo-classic building only in 1910, later enlarged in 1930. Its most famous moment came on June 20, 1942, when a young Hunt County man named Audie Murphy joined the Army here on his 18th birthday. Murphy went on to become the most decorated American soldier of World War II, and the city acquired the building in 1973 to preserve it.
Site of Phillips Field/Majors Stadium
Greenville, TX
Opened in 1929 with a gift from Eula Lasater Phillips in memory of her husband, this field hosted Greenville's football triumphs—including a 1933 state championship—before being remade for baseball. Rechristened for Truett Majors, the first local man killed in World War II, the minor-league Majors drew huge crowds and once beat a barnstorming New York Yankees team fielding Casey Stengel and Joe DiMaggio. Hometown pitcher Monty Stratton also took the mound here before the stadium's demolition in the 1960s.
Audie Murphy's Homecoming, June 15, 1945
Farmersville, TX
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.