FARMERSVILLE, Texas — A converted 1920s onion shed tells the story of Farmersville, Texas. 

The building houses the town’s Heritage museum, which is dedicated to hometown hero Audie Murphy. 

Murphy grew up in this area but called Farmersville home when he joined the military. With a baby face and barely five and a half feet tall, Murphy entered World War II just another kid. He came home a hero.

“His humility is what is overwhelming to me. He never wanted to be a hero and would never call himself a hero, ” said Farmersville Mayor Bryon Wiebold.

That huge welcome home in 1945 is pictured in the pages of Life Magazine. A memorial to Murphy now stands in that very spot in downtown. 

“He was a poor kid from a small town, basically a nobody who went to war and became the most decorated soldier of World War II,” said U.S. Army veteran Darrell Moore.

Moore grew up in the same area as Audie Murphy. They were separated by two generations but shared a passion for helping others, even on the battlefield.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from - it's what’s in your heart that matters, and it's what he was capable of doing,” said Moore.

In France, Murphy climbed a tank all alone, holding off the enemy. His actions are depicted in the film about his life, “To Hell and Back.”  A piece of the real tank is headed to Farmersville courtesy of the town’s sister city in France.

“It’s a wheel that ran the track on that tank destroyer. We’re excited to receive it into the museum here,” said Mayor Wiebold.

Murphy’s brave actions would earn him the Medal of Honor. More than 75 years later he’s still considered a hometown hero: a boy from Farmersville who did what he had to do when duty called.