No Name on the Bullet

Audie was addicted to risk, his one great vice was gambling. Both he and my dad had race horses bred and trained on the Old English Rancho facility in Ontario, CA. At the time he drove a Dodge Charger more than enough to dazzle any young boy's eyes! On the ranch Audie taught me how to shoot using a Remington semi-auto chambered for 22 short, he was an amazing shot, physically graceful in everything he did which is astounding as he had lost part of his ass in the war. This biography is intensely detailed and one of a kind! I am very grateful that this book is available

When I grew up everyone knew Audi Murphy. Now it is quite different. This is a truley excellant book on the real guy it pulls no punches. Audi had lots of problems both before durning and after the war but was one tuff SOB and one damn nice guy who would give a stranger the last dollar in his pockett. This book realy tells his life from his childhood to his final day. His womenizing, his standing up for the under dog, a non drinker who would fight at the drop of a hat. A person who was humble, brave, fearless, liked the girls, a super outdoorsman, a man who earned everything he got and asked for nothing extra. But boy did he have issues an thats what makes him so interisting. The only thing I differ from the book on is that myself and most of the people my age thought Audi was a terrable actor. He just dident look comfortable.

I remember seeing "To Hell and Back" as an eight year old kid and the theater had a display in the lobby of all the medals awarded to Audie Murphy in his military career. I have probably seen the movie 200 times since then, and read his autobiography by the same name years ago. I probably saw most of not all of his "B" movies in my formative years as I rarely missed a western or war movie at the local theater. I found a copy of "No Name of the Bullet" in my local library and read it quickly. I was struck by how tragic Murphy's life was, and I certainly believe his was a classic case of post-traumatic stress syndrome, simply called "battle fatigue" in his day. Had he lived in a later time he certainly would have been better cared for and possibly not have suffered so terribly from his war experiences. I remember feeling very sad when I learned of his death in the early 70's but also remember that I had lost track of him and I certainly didn't know of how low he had sunk after his movie career ended. His flaws were many, but I believe they can almost all be traced back to the horrors he experienced during battle, and we are still learning how the human mind reacts to such terrible experiences. This book also gives insight into why so many war veterans are reluctant to discuss their experiences, it is just too horrible to bring to mind. I highly recommend this book if you can find it.

Don Graham's book, "No Name on the Bullet," is out of print, but I think should be reprinted. Bios of Audie Murphy are either too worshipful or try to highlight his all too obvious flaws. Mr. Graham to his credit does neither. No doubt he clearly admires Murphy's accomplishments as a soldier but he is less than enamored with his postwar record. Murphy fans will either love or hate this book. I enjoyed it, though I had to deduct a star when Mr. Graham wrote that the Battle of the Bulge began on December 18 (it opened on the 16th). If you make a basic mistake on that level, your book might have other such errors. Still, it's a good book and if you want an honest portrait of this tragically flawed hero, you won't do any better than this.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ENGLISH PROFESSER DON GRAHAM DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF RESEARCH AND WRITING HERE. 'NO NAME ON THE BULLET' HITS ITS MARK WITH ACCURACY AND EMOTIONAL ENERGY. WHY SOMEONE HASNT MADE A MOVIE ABOUT MURPHYS POST WAR TRAUMA BASED ON THIS BIOGRAPHY IS BEYOND REASON. THIS TEXT SHOWS HEROES IN A LIGHT NOT ALL THAT RIGHTEOUS BUT DANG SURE REALISTIC. MURPHYS AFTER THE FACT LIFESTYLE AND HIS EMOTIONAL UNRAVELING IS PRSENTED IN A FACTUAL MANNER WITHOUT BEING DISRESPECTFUL OR PATRONIZING TO THIS GREAT HERO. THIS BOOK DOCUMENTS AUDIES MIRACULOUS WARTIME ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THEN FOCUSES ON THE LIFELONG BATTLES HE FOUGHT AFTERWARDS. IT IS WRITTEN IN A CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER WITH THE VARIOUS EVENTS INTERPRETED IN AN ALMOST SURGICAL PSYCOLOGICAL MANNER. I COULDNT PUT IT DOWN. IT IS FACT THAT BECAUSE OF ITS FEROCITY STIMULATES LIKE FICTION. DON GRAHAM SHOULD HAVE RECIEVED HIGH PRAISE UPON THIS BOOKS RELEASE IN 1989. THE FACT THAT A TEXAS WRITER IS COMMENTING ON AFELLOW TEXAN HERO ADDS A TOUCH OF ADMIRATION TO THE MIX. FORGET WHAT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS CALLS A HERO, AUDIE MURPY WAS THE GENUINE ARTICLE. AND GRAHAMS BOOK IS THE BEST IVE SEEN ON THIS SUBJECT.

I've read this book twice: once when it was new and then recently. I was a fan of Audie Murphy growing up and remember hearing of some of his problems after the war. Even so, this book is hard to read. It's hard to read because it's true. This book is not sentimental, but it is compassionate. It's also objective and well researched. Personally, I don't think Don Graham particularly liked his subject very much, but he certainly respected him. He respected him enough to stand back and let Audie Murphy, finally, more than 50 years after his medals and almost 30 years after his death, become a REAL person. Most of this book is on his post-war life because that's where most of his life played out. Exceptionally well written, this is the story of a man who was not always brave, not always right, not always faithful to his family or his friends, not even always law-abiding. This is the story of a man terribly tormented by his war experiences, living in a time and in a profession that made no allowances for it's heros. I have more respect for Audie Murphy now than I ever did before. But I also have a sense of guilt.When he came home, he was cheered as a hero but we never let him get beyond that. We saw him as we WANTED HIM TO BE, not as he really was. I was born and reared in "Audie Murphy" country, and some people still do that. As if he couldn't be BOTH a hero and a terribly troubled man. He gave his life for his country, but not because of a German bullet. He gave his life for his country because of well-meaning people who, even to this day, will not allow even his memory to be real. It took guts for Don Graham to write this book and it will take guts for you to read it. I recommend you do.