As Northeast Texas prepares for what could be a stormy weekend, this year’s Audie Murphy Day activities in Greenville remain scheduled for Saturday, rain or shine. Murphy is the nation’s most-decorated World War II combat soldier, He was born and raised in Hunt County and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics in France. Murphy pursued an acting career after the war before dying in a plane crash in 1971.
Morning events will happen at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center, with evening events at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum. Doors will open at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center at 8:30 a.m., with the program beginning at 9:30. Featured speakers this year include Seth Paridon. He’s the former chief historian at The National World War II Museum in New Orleans and also the host of a popular podcast called The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War. Currently, Paridon is historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum. Also, a presention from Collin College professor Terrance Furgerson. He’s the author of “The Dallas Story: The North American Aviation Plant and the Industrial Mobilization during WWII.”
After a lunch break, events will resume at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum at 2 p.m. Among the offerings will be Q&A session with actor Kent McCord, who knew Audie Murphy and is best known for his role in the TV program Adam-12. At 7 p.m., there’ll be a screening of the 1950 Western movie “Sierra.” The film stars Audie Murphy along with Wanda Hendrix and Burl Ives. Murphy and Hendrix were married at the time of the film. Details and ticketing information available at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum’s website, cottonmuseum.com.
