A Leading Man, A Man's Man

A Leading Man, A Women’s Dream, A Man’s Man, is someone that is adored by the women and respected by the men.

Who is this man?

A leading man attracts ALL kinds of people to themselves.

When looking for a leader, don’t mix-up Meek with week.

Meek; mild: showing mildness or quietness of nature, is not Weak: not strong or fit: not physically fit or mentally strong, so which one of these men would you follow?

Is it Pee Wee Herman, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor or Mr. Rogers? What if you were going to into battle, would you follow them or would you want some one that is a little stronger, a little more forceful. Would you want a leader or a wimp?

What do you think about a leading man; Rob Lowe, Frank Sinatra, or John Wayne? Maybe you would want someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone?

What if you could choose General George Patton, General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas Macarthur, or a strong President, would you be more willing to go?

The leader is someone that commands respect by all.

A Young man from Texas is a good example.

Audie Murphy, at 19 years old, won the hearts and respect of everyone that knew of him.

Audie Leon Murphy, son of poor Texas sharecroppers, rose to national fame as the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II.

Among his 33 awards and decorations was the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America, for "conspicuous gallantry and in•trep•id at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."

He also received every decoration for valor that his country had to offer, some of them more than once, including 5 decorations by France and Belgium. He was credited with either killing over 240 of the enemy while wounding and capturing many others, he became a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division.

Beginning his service as an Army Private, Audie quickly rose to the enlisted rank of Staff Sergeant, was given a "battle field" commission as 2nd Lieutenant.

He was wounded three times, fought in 9 major campaigns across the European Theater, and survived the war.

During Murphy’s 3 years active service as a combat soldier in World War II, Audie became one of the best fighting combat soldiers of this or any other century.

What Audie accomplished during this period is most significant and probably will never be repeated by another soldier, given today’s high-tech type of warfare.

The U.S. Army has always declared that there will never be another Audie Murphy.

On 21 September, 1945, Audie was released from the Army as an active member and reassigned to inactive status. During this same time, actor James Cagney invited Murphy to Hollywood in September 1945, when he saw Murphy’s photo on the cover of Life Magazine.

The first couple of years he received token parts in two films.

His first starring role came in a 1949 released film by Allied Artists called, Bad Boy. In 1950 Murphy eventually got a contract with Universal-International (later called Universal) where he starred in 26 films, 23 of them westerns over the next 15 years.

His 1949 autobiography “To Hell And Back” was a best seller. Murphy starred as himself in a film biography released by Universal-International in 1955 with the same title.

The movie, To Hell and Back, held the record as Universal’s highest grossing picture until 1975 when it was finally surpassed by the movie Jaws.

In the 25 years that Audie spent in Hollywood, he made a total of 44 feature films.

Audie Murphy wrote some poetry and was quite successful as a songwriter. Dozens of Audie Murphy’s songs were recorded and released by such great performers as Dean Martin, Eddy Arnold, Charley Pride, Jimmy Bryant, Porter Waggoner, Jerry Wallace, Roy Clark, Harry Nilsson and many, many others.

His two biggest hits were Shutters and Boards and When the Wind Blows in Chicago. Eddy Arnold recorded When the Wind Blows in Chicago for his 1993 album Last of the Love Song Singers which is currently in release by RCA.

Murphy was always an advocate for the needs of veterans; he broke the taboo about discussing war related mental problems after this experience.

While on a business trip on May 28, 1971, (Memorial Day Weekend) he was killed at the age of 46. A private plane flying in fog and rain crashed in the side of a mountain near Roanoke, Virginia.

On June 7th, Audie Murphy was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

His gravesite, near the Amphitheater, is second most visited gravesite year round. President Kennedy’s grave is the most visited.

In 1996 the Texas Legislature officially designated his birthday, June 20th, as Audie Murphy Day.