Audie Murphy had a tough life.


 Born into abject poverty where food was scarce the family often moved in search of work and they lived where they could, once in a converted box car. He had to help out from an early age and so finished his school early, missing out on so much.


The Second World War made him a hero when his bravery earned him just about every medal there was. He was said to be America’s second greatest soldier, George Washington being the first. Unfortunately his experiences led to nightmares and anger outbursts, what we would recognise today at PTSD. He had a successful movie career, then new audiences found new actors to follow. Hooked, for a while, on prescription drugs he slept with a loaded gun under his pillow. With the courage that saw him through many a battle he went cold turkey and beat the drug habit. Bad business ventures led to a loss of much of his fortune. He died tragically in a plane crash aged only 46.


Here is a beautiful picture of him in a happy mood with his second wife Pam and sons Terry and Skipper.

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