Early Life
Murphy was born on June 20, 1925, in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas. Never a large community, Kingston had a population of only 120 persons as of the 2000 census. One of twelve children, his parents, Emmett Berry Murphy (February 20, 1886 – September 20, 1976) and Josie Bell (née Killian; 1891–1941), were poor sharecroppers of Irish descent. He grew up on farms in the Farmersville and Greenville areas, and near Celeste, Texas.
He attended elementary school in Celeste, until his father abandoned the family in 1936. Audie dropped out in the fifth grade to help support his family. He worked for one dollar per day, plowing and picking cotton on any farm that would hire him. Murphy became very skilled with a rifle, hunting small game, such as squirrels, rabbits and birds, to help feed the family. One of his favorite hunting companions was neighbor Dial Henley. When Henley commented that Murphy never missed what he shot at, Murphy replied, "Well, Dial, if I don't hit what I shoot at, my family won't eat today." Murphy had wanted to be a soldier all his youth and would have dreams about being engaged in combat. A self-confessed loner, Murphy would later say that even in his youth he had an explosive temper and was subject to mood swings. On May 23, 1941, his mother died in Farmersville. He worked at a combination general store, garage and gas station in Greenville. Boarded out, he worked in a radio repair shop. Hunt County authorities placed Joseph, Nadine, and Beatrice ("Billie") Murphy in Boles Children's Home (Boles Home), a Christian orphanage in Quinlan, Texas, until Audie Murphy was able to see they were cared for, after he returned home to Texas in 1945.
Read more about this topic: Audie Murphy Legacy
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