Audie Murphy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Army

Audie enlisted in the Regular Army in 1942 after the Marines and Army Paratroopers turned him away due to his size, he was 5'5" and about 110 pounds. There is some confusion about his birth date because his sister Corrine altered his birth certificate when he tried to enlist in 1941. Some sites list it as 1924 and others say 1926, whatever it was, he was a very young man.

Answer: Purple Heart

Murphy was wounded in the right heel and ankle by shrapnel on September 15, 1944. He received a serious wound to his right hip on October 26, 1944 from a shot by a sniper, which required 3 months of convalescence. On January 25, 1945, the day of the action which resulted in him being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, he received another shrapnel wound to his left leg. Considering that most Medal of Honor winners are awarded the medal posthumously, it is remarkable that he was only slightly wounded during the engagement that resulted in him receiving the country's highest honor.

Answer: James Cagney

James Cagney saw Murphy on the cover of "Life" magazine and thought, with his looks and hero status, he could potentially become a succesful actor. In September of 1945 Cagney invited Murphy to Hollywood and worked with him to hone his acting skills. Even with the help of Cagney it was a tough few years for Murphy before he finally broke into movies.

Answer: The Red Badge of Courage

John Huston directed the film and he considered it one of his best. Unfortunately Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM Studios at the time, had the movie cut from its original two hours to 69 minutes and the cut footage has never been found. The movie was based on the classic novel of the same name by Stephen Crane.

This was considered by many to be Murphy's best screen performance, probably because he was able to draw on his own experiences from WWII.

Answer: To Hell and Back

The book was published in 1949 and the movie was released in 1955. Initially Murphy did not want to be in the movie. He even suggested at one point that Tony Curtis should be offered the role, but eventually he agreed to star in the film. The book was a bestseller and the movie went on to make $10,000,000. "To Hell and Back" remained the highest money maker for Universal until the release of "Jaws" in 1975.

Answer: Night Passage

Utica Kid did reform but was killed in the end, by taking a bullet that was meant for his brother. Murphy appeared in 44 films between 1949 and 1969, 33 of them were westerns. He never achieved upper echelon star status, but he did make a comfortable living. Audie said, "As an actor I'd make a good stuntman".

In 1955 he was selected as the most popular western star by the movie exhibitors.

Answer: Songwriter

Murphy wrote numerous Country and Western songs, 17 of which were recorded by Eddy Arnold, Dean Martin, Porter Waggoner, Jimmy Dean, Teresa Brewer, Roy Clark and many others. His most popular songs were "When the Wind Blows in Chicago" and "Shutters and Boards".

Answer: Major

Audie started his military enlistment as a private and moved up through the enlisted ranks. In 1944 after numerous citations for bravery in Italy and France, he was made Staff Sergeant and Platoon Sergeant. He was then awarded a battlefield commission and promoted to Second Lieutenant and Platoon Leader. Following his Medal of Honor Award, he was promoted to First Lieutenant on February 22, 1945. In 1950 he joined the Texas National Guard and served in the 36th Infantry Division, until resigning his commission in 1966, at which time he was a Major.

Answer: Plane crash

On May 28, 1971 while on a business trip, the private plane that was carrying Murphy and five others crashed into a mountain near Roanoke Virginia. There were no survivors. It was two days before Murphy's body could be recovered; fittingly it was recovered on Memorial Day. A granite memorial marker was placed near the site in 1974.

Answer: Arlington National Cemetery

Audie Murphy was buried, with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery, on June 7, 1971. He is in Section 46, which overlooks the Tomb of the Unknowns. To accommodate the large number of people who stop to pay their respects, there was a special flagstone walkway constructed to his gravesite.

The only gravesite that receives more visitors is that of President Kennedy. The Arlington Cemetery website states, "At the end of a row of graves, his tomb is marked by a simple, white, government-issue tombstone, which lists only a few of his many military decorations.

The stone is, as he was, too small."