Foundation hopes to preserve rural life

By David Stevens, PanhandleNews.com

MEMPHIS – Jack Martin is worried about the preservation of rural America.

The Memphis man is particularly concerned about the future of small hospitals. If quality health care is not available, he reasons, small-town residents will have one more reason to move to the cities.

And so the former schoolteacher has put together a non-profit foundation aimed at maintaining health care, education, and quality of life in the southeastern Texas Panhandle, especially Hall and Donley counties.

And he’s enlisted the memory of a rural-American hero to help stir interest.

The Audie L. Murphy Rural Preservation Foundation is hoping to secure its first funds on March 1, Martin said. That’s when it raffles an Audie Murphy commemorative rifle with 24-karat gold engraving. Martin said the limited edition collector’s item is valued at $1,900.

Martin, 47, said he has long admired Murphy, who died in an airplane crash in 1971.

“Way back in the early ‘80s I took a group of students to Arlington National Cemetery, and I saw Audie’s grave,” he said. “I knew who he was, but that really brought it home.”

In 1995, Martin said he tracked down some of Murphy’s relatives and asked them to participate in promoting patriotism at a school in Gilmer where he was principal. Martin stayed in contact with family members and gained a greater respect for the soldier.

“I thought he was an important American that the students needed to know about,” Martin said. “He was from Texas, he was from rural America like our school was, and I wanted to tell the students how a person can achieve great things even if they’re not from a rich family. He grew up in humble surroundings and became one of our greatest Americans. He inspired me personally.”

Gene Murphy, 71, of Jacksonville, is a younger brother of Audie. He said the family worked on farms in the Greenville area in east Texas, raising cotton and corn among other crops.

Gene Murphy not only allowed Martin to use the family name for the rural foundation, he agreed to sit on the board of directors. He said his brother would have endorsed Martin’s project, and he hopes the name will help inspire success.

“I’m surprised at the number of people I’ve been around, people a lot younger than me, who remember him,” Gene Murphy said.

Audie Murphy is believed to be the nation’s most decorated combat soldier during World War II. He received 33 citations for bravery, including the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Many generations of Americans will remember him for another reason – he became an actor following his military career, appearing in more than 25 films. One of his co-stars was Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart.

Martin hopes Murphy’s name will enable the foundation to help rural causes.

“Rural hospitals are closing ,and we have many needs,” Martin said. “I am a kidney transplant patient myself, and I’m not the only one out here. I want to be able to live here in my hometown.”