Farmersville, Collin County
With Allied victory in World War II Europe secured, Farmersville celebrated the return of the area's most famous citizen soldier. On his 18th birthday, Audie Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Greenville Post Office. In more than two years of combat, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France and earned every Army citation for valor, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. His homecoming drew an audience of several thousand to the town square. Life Magazine's July 16, 1945 issue made the Farmersville ceremony and Murphy's family reunion its cover story, commemorating the efforts of a grateful nation and hometown. (2008)