Audie Murphy
What failed
His father walked out when he was about twelve and he left school to hire out as a farm hand. His mother died in 1941 and the youngest children went into an orphanage. He tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor and was refused as too young. The Marines turned him down for being too short. The paratroopers turned him down too, at around five foot five and a hundred and ten pounds, and by one account so did the Navy. Once he was finally in the Army he passed out during close-order drill and his commander tried to move him to cook and bakers' school.
What happened next
He stayed in the infantry. On 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, he held a position alone long enough to save his company from encirclement. By his death in 1971 he was the most decorated American combat soldier of the Second World War.
The point
Every institution that assessed him got it wrong, and they were all measuring the same thing: his body. He was refused three times for being small before anyone tested what he would actually do.
The sequence
6 documented failures, shown with the successes in between. Every entry carries its own source — the wins are part of the record, and leaving them out is how these stories get distorted.
- 1937
His father walks out. He leaves school and hires out as a farm hand.
- 1941
His mother dies and the youngest children go into an orphanage.
- 1941
He tries to enlist after Pearl Harbor and is refused as too young.
- 1942
The Marines turn him down for being too short.
- 1942
The paratroopers reject him as too short and underweight.
- 1942
The Army takes him, and sends him to basic training in Texas.
- 1942
He passes out during close-order drill, and his company commander tries to have him sent to cook and bakers' school.
- 1945
Near Holtzwihr he holds a position alone and saves his company from encirclement.
Sources
- Audie L. Murphy (Congressional Medal of Honor Society)
Second Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.
- Murphy, Audie Leon (Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association)
At the time of his death Murphy was the most decorated combat soldier of World War II.
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