Audie Murphy

This past Saturday (June 20) was Audie Murphy Day in Texas—officially designated by the Texas Legislature and former Governor George W. Bush—and Murphy's hometown of Greenville, Tex., is holding its annual Audie Murphy Days Celebration.

Audie Leon Murphy, for those who don't know, was the most decorated combat soldier of World War II—earning thirty-three decorations including the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. For all things Audie, check out this website: http://www.audiemurphy.com/

A Texas sharecropper's son, Murphy enlisted in the Army at eighteen and rose quickly through the ranks, eventually earning a battlefield commission. A member of the 3rd Infantry Division, he fought in nine campaigns and was wounded three times.

After leaving the Army in 1945, Murphy surfaced in Hollywood where his boyish good looks led to a movie career that spanned two decades and included forty-four feature films—the most successful of which was "To Hell and Back," which is based on his best-selling autobiography of the same title.

A box office hit, "To Hell and Back" remained Universal Studio's most profitable film until it was swamped by 1975's "Jaws." The Dallas Times Herald's interview with the star on the eve of the movie's Texas premiere is here: http://www.audiemurphy.com/newsclip/dth_08-14-55.pdf

Murphy also was a successful songwriter, penning dozens of songs with composers like Guy Mitchell. Dean Martin and Eddy Arnold, among others, recorded Murphy's songs.

Despite his success, Murphy was plagued by flashbacks related to the war and suffered from insomnia and depression. At one point, he became addicted to sleeping pills and suffered through a harrowing withdrawal.

Murphy died prematurely, killed in a plane crash on Memorial Day Weekend of 1971. He was 46-years-old.

Much of Murphy's Hollywood output fell into the B-movie category: the majority of them westerns. His best-known films include: "To Hell and Back," "The Red Badge of Courage," and "The Quiet American." All three are available on DVD.

"The Red Badge of Courage" was directed by the legendary John Ford and also starred iconic combat cartoonist Bill Mauldin. "The Quiet American," based on Graham Greene's excellent novel of the same title, also was directed by a Hollywood legend, Joseph K. Mankiewicz.

Murphy was ambivalent about making "To Hell and Back," but the resulting film is a surprisingly good combat drama that made Universal a lot of money. If you watch it, look for David Janssen (Lt. Lee) who later won fame and fortune as television's "The Fugitive," and Denver Pyle (Thompson) who capped a long career as a character actor as Uncle Jesse on "The Dukes of Hazzard."

How many other combat veterans were also Hollywood stars? That includes vets like Jimmy Stewart who was a star before flying bombing missions over Germany during World War II. Maybe we can come up with a "Top 10 Actors with Combat Experience."

Post your nominees below.