BIO: Audie Leon MURPHY was born in June of 1924 (or 1925), the son of poor Texas sharecroppers and the seventh of 12 children, only nine of whom survived past childhood. He was born in Hunt Co, in the Farmersville area and when his father, Emmett ("Pat") deserted the family, Audie dropped out of school to pick cotton to help support his mother, Josie, and his siblings. Audie learned how to use a rifle and to shoot small game for the table. His mother died when he was 16 and his siblings were sent to live with relatives and to orphanages. This baby-faced, shy and unassuming farmboy found that he was too short for the Marines and the paratroopers would not take him either, but he rose to national fame in the 3rd Infantry Division for his heroism and became the most decorated U. S. combat soldier of World War II - his honors included those for valour and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Having risked his own life innumerable times, in death-defying exploits, Murphy's small stone in Arlington National Cemetery is said by some to be "too small," as, indeed, he was said to have been. Actor James CAGNEY invited MURPHY to Hollywood in September of 1945, when he saw Murphy's photo on the cover of "Life Magazine." The handsome Murphy became an actor and was in a total of 44 films over 23 years. His first starring role was in "Bad Boy" in 1949, and he played himself in his own best-selling autobiography, "To Hell And Back," in 1955. Murphy was a rancher in CA and AZ, was a successful thoroughbred and quarter horse racehorse owner and breeder. He loved to gamble and won and lost fortunes. He wrote poetry and songs to include "Shutters and Boards," and "When the Wind Blows In Chicago." Always an advocate for the needs of veterans, Audie spoke out often and candidly about "battle fatigue" (post-traumatic stress disorder) when the subject was frowned upon. He repeatedly called on the government to give more study to the emotional impact of war on its veterans and to extend health care benefits. Murphy, himself, apparently suffered from a nervous disorder from the effects of war and had disturbing nightmares; it is said that he never slept without a gun under his pillow. Audie Murphy lost his own life at the age of 46 on a business trip with friends and associates on May 28, 1971, when his private plane flying in fog and rain crashed into the side of a mountain near Roanoke, VA.