Milledgeville woman is making sure World War II hero Audie Murphy is never forgotten

MILLEDGEVILLE – Melissa Van Drew was in law enforcement for 33 years, 22 with the Illinois State Police.

Now retired from police work, the Milledgeville resident has a new work passion. Since 2019, she’s been a researcher for the Audie Murphy Research Foundation (www.audiemurphy.com), which does deep dives into the life and times of the World War II hero and helps veterans.

Murphy used his fame after the war to advocate for veterans, especially those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, as he did. He died in a private plane crash in 1971 in Virginia at age 46.

“Audie Murphy was an incredible soldier,” Van Drew said. “And his dedication to his country went beyond his years in a service uniform. He continued to serve his country until the day he died.”

The seventh of 12 children born into a family of sharecroppers in 1925 in Kingston, Texas, Murphy left school in fifth grade to support his family. His father had abandoned the family by that time. His mother died in 1941.

Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 after falsifying his birth certificate to say he was born in 1924 to meet the minimum age requirement, according to the Arlington National Cemetery website.

Despite the harsh and unsettled start to his life, Murphy is one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history.

Van Drew said his gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery is the second-most visited behind President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

In addition to his heroics and accomplishments during World War II and law enforcement work, Murphy was a movie star (he appeared in 44 movies), songwriter, husband and father.

He also had a starring role in “To Hell and Back,” an autobiographical film that was released in 1955.

A few years ago, the Audie Murphy Research Foundation produced a book about Murphy based on the memoirs of Terry Murphy, Audie Murphy’s oldest son, and interviews done by Terry Murphy and Larryann Willis, the foundation’s executive director.

Van Drew was an integral member of the group that did the research and wrote the book. She said she was the only one on the book team with law enforcement experience – 33 years in a squad car on patrol – so she was the ‘resident expert’ going over all that stuff, Van Drew said.

“Some law enforcement tactics and actions needed to be explained to the rest of the group,” she said.

Van Drew also was the only member of the book group with aviation experience. That was important because of Murphy’s infamous and fatal plane crash.

Van Drew theorizes that Murphy was working as an informant against the mob at the time, Van Drew said.

“I spent three years studying the plane crash, beginning my work even before I was asked to join the foundation,” Van Drew said.

After receiving copies of all the official reports, “I was able to develop a credible theory of what happened on that flight, including putting Audie in the co-pilot’s seat, at the controls. Audie had gotten a pilot’s license in 1958,” Van Drew said.

Van Drew gave a presentation about her theory in 2023 at Audie Murphy Days in Greenville, Texas.

Van Drew is a third-generation aviation family member.
Her grandparents ran a government air mail field starting in 1925. Her mother grew up at that airport, where her father worked as a mechanic before going into the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot in World War II.

Her parents married after the war and built a home on property given to them by Rochelle Airport Inc. in 1947.

“My father was working there as a pilot and mechanic,” Van Drew said. “I literally grew up at this airport.”

Terry Murphy has established an Audie Murphy Archives at the Texas Heritage Museum in Hillsboro, Texas. Van Drew has a role there.

“One of my duties for the foundation is to acquire items for placement in the archives,” Van Drew said. “I have my own ‘collection’ there. This is a research archives, not a fan site. It’s been used by some pretty well-known World War II aficionados.”