FAQ

Everything which is pictured in the film actually occured and is recorded in Murphy's autobiography and verified by military records. However many scenes and characters are shown in the wrong sequence or fictionalized in order to shorten the film and present a clearer narrative for the viewer. For example in the film Murphy's first experience of combat is destroying an enemy machine-gun post in Sicily. This did happen in the Sicilian campaign almost exactly as it is portrayed in the film but Murphy's real first experience in combat was a soldier in his platoon being killed by a random shell as they marched towards the front. In real life the first enemy soldiers killed by Murphy were a pair of Italian officers attempting to flee on horseback. The conversation between Murphy and Kerrigan about how they will be treated when they return home does take place but on the front line in Italy rather than in a military hospital in France.

Murphy became a film star in numerous westerns and rose to the rank of Major in the Texas National Guard. However he was plagued by the memories of his wartime experiences, suffering from what is today referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became dependent on sleeping pills, keeping a loaded gun under his pillow. He used his fame to campaign for better treatment for soldiers suffering from the condition which was highly topical due to the Vietnam war. In later years Murphy would suffer financial problems and was killed in a plane crash in 1971.