And not to forget: (From Wikipedia)
Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1925 – May 28, 1971) was one of the most famous and decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He was awarded every U.S. military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, and was also decorated by France and Belgium. He served in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations. He was presented the Medal of Honor for his defensive actions against German troops on January 26, 1945, at the Colmar Pocket near Holtzwihr, France. During an hour-long siege, he stood alone on a burning tank destroyer firing a machine gun at attacking German soldiers and tanks. Wounded and out of ammunition, Murphy climbed off the tank, refused medical attention, and led his men on a successful counter assault. In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
When he heard the news of Japan's December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor he tried to enlist in the Marines, the Navy and the Army, but was turned down for being underweight and underage. He added weight with a change in diet, and gave the Army a sworn affidavit from his sister Corrine that falsified his birth date by a year. Murphy enlisted on June 30, 1942 in Dallas. During his physical examination his height was registered as 5 feet 5.5 inches and his weight as 112 pounds.
Murphy was plagued by insomnia and bouts of depression, related to his military service. He slept with a loaded pistol under his pillow. A post-service medical examination on June 17, 1947, revealed symptoms of headaches, vomiting, and nightmares about war. The medical record shows that sleeping pills helped prevent the nightmares. During the mid-1960s, he recognized his dependence on Placidyl, and locked himself alone in a hotel room for a week to successfully break the addiction. Post-traumatic stress levels exacerbated his innate moodiness, and surfaced in episodes that friends and professional colleagues found alarming. His first wife, Wanda Hendrix, stated that he once held her at gunpoint. She witnessed her husband being moved to tears by newsreel footage of German war orphans, guilt-ridden that his war actions might have been the cause of their having no parents. Murphy briefly found a creative stress outlet in writing poetry after his Army discharge. His poem "The Crosses Grow on Anzio" appeared in his book To Hell and Back, but was attributed to the fictitiously named Kerrigan.
In an effort to draw attention to the problems of returning Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, Murphy spoke out candidly about his own problems with post-traumatic stress disorder. It was known during Murphy's lifetime as "battle fatigue" and "shell shock", terminology that dated back to World War I. He called on the government to give increased consideration and study to the emotional impact of combat experiences, and to extend health care benefits to war veterans. As a result of legislation introduced by U.S. Congressman Olin Teague five months after Murphy's 1971 death, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio was dedicated in 1973 and is now a part of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
After the war, they took Army dogs and rehabilitated them for civilian life. But they turned soldiers into civilians immediately, and let 'em sink or swim.
He appeared in 44 films throughout his career. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was cast primarily in Westerns. In 1955, he played himself in the film To Hell and Back which became the biggest hit in the history of Universal Studios at the time. He performed in a handful of television productions and was the star of the Whispering Smith series.
