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Statue of Audie Murphy
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The Audie Murphy Veterans Memorial Hospital is located in San Antonio, Texas.
It is well known among the medical profession for innovative medical research
and articles which are published frequently. Many people don't realize that
there is an excellent display inside the hospital which is dedicated to Audie
Murphy. Many of the items in the display are authentic and are not
duplicated by any other exhibit in the world. Like the Audie Murphy Room in
Greenville, Texas this is a must for Audie fans who are lucky enough to be
in the area.
Inside the Hospital
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Audie's Childhood
In Texas |
This display case contains many items which either belonged to Audie or are
similar to items he actually used. These include a set of Audie's coveralls,
an "Auto-Lite" spark plug sign, a .22 caliber pump action rifle, a photograph
of Audie with a close friend, and a photograph of Audie's house in Hunt County,
Texas near the town of Kingston. The display case also contains a slingshot
and a raccoon pelt. During Audie's childhood, he learned to shoot with an
incredible accurracy at a very early age shortly after his father abandoned
the family. As a youngster, he would borrow a .22 rifle from a neighbor and
shoot rabbits to help feed his large family. As a result Audie developed
incredible hand eye coordination which later served him well during World
War II.
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Movie Career Display |
Audie has a special display case dedicated to his movie career in Hollywood.
In the display case is a cowboy costume worn by Audie including his hat and
boots, several movie premiere photos of "TO HELL AND BACK", and a movie
lobby card of TO HELL AND BACK. There are other interesting items in this
display case too.
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Military Display Case |
This is part of a display case dedicated to Audie's military accomplishments.
Inside the display case are photographs which show the medals Audie earned.
There is also a beautifully framed color portrait of Audie in military
uniform along with his Medal of Honor citation (upper left). Below this is
the Life Magazine cover photograph of Audie (see GALLERY OF PHOTOS in the
Table of Contents) and a color painting of Audie fighting on the burning M10
Tank Destroyer during the Colmar Pocket battle which won him the Medal of
Honor (see CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION in the Table of Contents).
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Dress Uniform |
In one of the display cases at the exhibit is a uniform similar
to Audie's with all the medals, ribbons, and patches Audie was authorized to
wear at the time of his death. On the uniform is a Texas National Guard patch on the left shoulder
which Audie wore proudly after the war. As a movie star, Audie frequently
travelled home from Hollywood to drill with his Texas National Guard unit. (For
a better picture of the Texas National Guard Patch, see TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD PATCH
in the EXHIBITS AND MEMORABILIA section of this web site.)
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"Little Texas" |
This is a famous portrait of Audie Murphy which can be found in many places
including the Audie Murphy Veterans Memorial Hospital. This picture shows
Audie with his boyish smile that endeared him to people across the world.
Audie never quite outgrew that smile. It was one of his trademarks that made "Little
Texas" famous among fellow soldiers and later among movie fans.
Note: To visit the Audie Murphy Veterans
Memorial Hospital web site, click on the following address:
http://www.vasthcs.med.va.gov
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