Talk:Audie Murphy

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Featured articleAudie Murphy is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
Featured topic starAudie Murphy is the main article in the Audie Murphy series, a featured topic. This is identified as among the best series of articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on March 17, 2015.
On this day... Article milestones
DateProcessResult
February 23, 2013Peer reviewReviewed
February 27, 2013Good article nomineeListed
July 26, 2013WikiProject A-class reviewApproved
May 24, 2014Featured article candidatePromoted
August 1, 2014Featured topic candidatePromoted
On this day... Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on January 26, 2015, January 26, 2020, and January 26, 2023.
Current status: Featured article

Tendentious editing removed[edit]

User:Penlite your recent edits to Audie Murphy and, to Night Passage (film), constitute Tendentious editing (editorial bias), and have been reverted. — Maile (talk) 14:28, 7 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know about Night Passage but I don't understand how the edit to this article was tendentious or vandalism. Can you explain your reason for the revert? Coretheapple (talk) 17:56, 7 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I have the same concern about the Night Passage edit (which is not really relevant to the edit here). It is original research, not tendentious. Coretheapple (talk) 18:24, 7 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Coretheapple please see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history#Audie_Murphy_articles. I reverted my edits on Night Passage, but I'm seriously concerned the recent edits on this article takes it from Feature Article quality to tabloid quality. Getting this to FA literally took a team of top-quality editors, and constant interfering by one editor who was obsessed that Audie didn't deserve any medals. That editor also rewrote the article every time we got it close to FA. But it doesn't hurt to ask others, which is why I posted the question at MH. — Maile (talk) 22:31, 7 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Coretheapple It looks to me like my reverts have been corrected, and hopefully, this article is now where it should be. Thank you for taking the time to ask about it. — Maile (talk) 23:21, 7 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm getting hold of the Graham book. I wonder whether we have enough to show Murphy in a well-rounded fashion. Coretheapple (talk) 16:09, 8 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I've gotten the book and look forward to reading it. As I mentioned in the milhist talk page, I wonder whether we may be downplaying some aspects of his character a tad. If so, we are doing neither the reader nor his legacy any favors. Coretheapple (talk) 23:14, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
  • The Graham book is interesting. It's new to me but I imagine editors here are familiar with it as it is cited several times. I see no discussion of the book's value as a source in the archives and I was wondering if editors have strong feelings about it one way or the other. I'm not sure more is needed from that book, by the way, but it does have some interesting details. Coretheapple (talk) 15:44, 20 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
  • I note also that there is a 2015 biography, The Price of Valor, that may be useful. I'm getting a copy of it. I note that it is listed as "further reading" but not is not used as a source, and I was wondering why that would be. A description of the book indicates that it discusses Murphy's birth date and states that he was born in 1925, and use of that source would obviate the need to utilize primary sources as we seem to do here. The Graham book is quite good, but going through the archives I see that someone observed that the book tends to include uncorrobroated anecdotes. This is true, and they need to be used with caution but I don't think that they necessarily should be excluded entirely. Reading the Graham book, I am struck by how one of its primary themes, which was an examination of Murphy's character and personality, is not reflected in this article adequately. Considering that this is a featured article, it is striking that a significant element of the subject's biography would appear to be neglected. Coretheapple (talk) 16:14, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I just wanted to mention that I finished The Price of Valor and it is largely of little value as a source. Except for confirming the birth date (which I suspect was inspired by this article!) it has little that wasn't in the Graham book in considerably greater detail. Also it appears to contradict the Graham book on whether Murphy went backrupt. It says he did. I believe Graham says he did not. Further, the Graham book goes into substantial detail over Murphy's involvement in an effort on behalf of Jimmy Hoffa. Nothing in Valor on that. I also noted duplicate phrases here and there. Coretheapple (talk) 22:40, 13 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
at update at on the same calibre of audie murphy 2601:642:4C02:4B99:3911:A441:73C8:F3AC (talk) 16:33, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Murphy's military service[edit]

I wonder whether we sufficiently capture the uniqueness of Murphy's World War II service. I don't believe we do so in this article or in the article focusing just on his military career. It was his entire approach to soldiering, the mental attitude that distinguished him from the rest. Are we really doing that justice? Reading the Graham book, I am struck by the attention it devotes to that subject. Both of these articles seem a bit dry and lacking in sufficient detail. Since this article will be getting eyeballs on Jan. 26, the anniversary of his heroism at Colmar, it would be nice if we enhanced a bit that aspect of the article, while of course respecting its FA status. I have the same feeling concerning his youth, as the severe nature of his poverty is not described. I don;t mean anything big, just a sentence or two here and there, and perhaps a blockquote. I'm raising here because this is indeed an FA and perhaps this has been discussed in the past. Coretheapple (talk) 20:15, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The lead misquotes the WWII museum source, which calls Murphy "the'" most decorated solider of WWII, not "one of." Yes, this was discussed in the past, eleven years ago, but I think that we can revisit that. Also I see that the Graham biography thoroughly explores his decorations, and states that he is the most decorated solider in US history. I likewise note that the same determination was reached by the AUSA. Coretheapple (talk) 16:03, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Birthdate[edit]

He was born 1924 172.102.187.11 (talk) 14:07, 3 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

While his tombstone says 1924 and many sources do say that, in recent years it emerged that in fact he was born in 1925. His sister revealed after his death that she provided military recruiters an altered birth certificate making him one year older to allow him to join the Army. His latest biography "The Price of Valor" apparently adopts that birth date. This has been discussed quite a bit in the past. We can certainly revisit the subject I imagine. Coretheapple (talk) 15:10, 3 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"Price of Valor" just arrived in the mail. It does adopt the 1925 birth date, sourced to his driver's license (recovered at the scene of the plane crash) and comments by his friend Specs McClure. I believe both of these have been gone over, in depth, in archived discussions. It certainly is plausible, given his dire poverty (not adequately described in this article) that he would want to join the Army urgently enough to persuade his sister to falsify documents. I believe underaged soldiers were fairly common in WWII. Coretheapple (talk) 16:14, 3 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Audie Murphy's birth year[edit]

The article states Audie Murphy was born in 1925. However, this is incorrect. I recently took a photo of his headstone at Arlington National Cemetery, and it shows his date of birth to be June 20, 1924. Morrisonvp (talk) 18:40, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Morrisonvp, please see discussion immediately above your post. Schazjmd (talk) 18:47, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]