thedrifter
06-04-07, 07:05 PM
The Lore of the Corps
Officer ignored his wounds to evacuate fellow Marines
By Fred L. Borch and Robert F. Dorr - Special to the Times
Posted : June 11, 2007
Raymond Gerald “Jerry” Murphy, a second lieutenant who braved heavy fire to carry wounded Marines to safety during the Korean War, received the Medal of Honor for his heroism.
Born in Pueblo, Colo., on Jan. 14, 1930, the college athlete earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1951 and was commissioned that September.
With the Korean War underway, Murphy shipped out to the 1st Marine Division in July 1952.
On Feb. 3, 1953, he was a platoon commander with Able Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. According to official records, Murphy, then 23, led his evacuation platoon up a hill near Ungok, South Korea, in support of an assault on “a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched hostile force.”
Although Murphy was wounded by shrapnel from a mortar shell that exploded near him, he refused medical treatment and continued to lead his platoon through a “withering barrage of hostile mortar and small-arms fire,” his citation states.
Despite the increasingly intense firefight, Murphy kept his composure and shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines as he maneuvered his force up the hill. After locating a sizable number of wounded men, he directed evacuation teams to the casualties. Murphy himself made several trips up and down the hill, carrying the wounded to safety, according to the citation.
As the battle raged on, the assault forces needed additional Marines. In response, Murphy employed some of his men in support of the attack and personally killed two enemy soldiers with his pistol.
After the wounded Marines had been evacuated, Murphy was ordered to break off his attack. To cover the Marines who began disengaging, Murphy remained behind with a carbine to cover their withdrawal. Although he was in pain from his wounds, he was sufficiently alert to seize an automatic rifle and use its additional firepower when enemy soldiers reappeared in the trenches, the citation states.
Later, Murphy organized a search party and again went up the hill to make a final check on missing Marines. He located the bodies of a machine-gun crew, which he carried back down the hill.
Murphy was wounded a second time while leading his men to the line of departure through enemy small-arms, artillery and mortar fire. Despite these serious wounds, he again refused medical treatment until he was certain that every Marine, including all casualties, had made it back to the main lines, according to the citation.
Murphy’s injuries required considerable treatment aboard hospital ships offshore, in Japan and finally at a naval medical facility in California.
For his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” President Eisenhower awarded then-1st Lt. Murphy the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony Oct. 27, 1953. Murphy was promoted to captain the following year and left the Marine Corps Reserve in 1959.
He died in April at the age of 77. There is a bill in the House to name a veterans’ hospital in New Mexico after him.
Borch retired from the Army. He can be reached at borchfj@aol.com. Dorr is an Air Force veteran. He can be reached at robert.f.dorr@cox.net.
Ellie
Officer ignored his wounds to evacuate fellow Marines
By Fred L. Borch and Robert F. Dorr - Special to the Times
Posted : June 11, 2007
Raymond Gerald “Jerry” Murphy, a second lieutenant who braved heavy fire to carry wounded Marines to safety during the Korean War, received the Medal of Honor for his heroism.
Born in Pueblo, Colo., on Jan. 14, 1930, the college athlete earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1951 and was commissioned that September.
With the Korean War underway, Murphy shipped out to the 1st Marine Division in July 1952.
On Feb. 3, 1953, he was a platoon commander with Able Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. According to official records, Murphy, then 23, led his evacuation platoon up a hill near Ungok, South Korea, in support of an assault on “a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched hostile force.”
Although Murphy was wounded by shrapnel from a mortar shell that exploded near him, he refused medical treatment and continued to lead his platoon through a “withering barrage of hostile mortar and small-arms fire,” his citation states.
Despite the increasingly intense firefight, Murphy kept his composure and shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines as he maneuvered his force up the hill. After locating a sizable number of wounded men, he directed evacuation teams to the casualties. Murphy himself made several trips up and down the hill, carrying the wounded to safety, according to the citation.
As the battle raged on, the assault forces needed additional Marines. In response, Murphy employed some of his men in support of the attack and personally killed two enemy soldiers with his pistol.
After the wounded Marines had been evacuated, Murphy was ordered to break off his attack. To cover the Marines who began disengaging, Murphy remained behind with a carbine to cover their withdrawal. Although he was in pain from his wounds, he was sufficiently alert to seize an automatic rifle and use its additional firepower when enemy soldiers reappeared in the trenches, the citation states.
Later, Murphy organized a search party and again went up the hill to make a final check on missing Marines. He located the bodies of a machine-gun crew, which he carried back down the hill.
Murphy was wounded a second time while leading his men to the line of departure through enemy small-arms, artillery and mortar fire. Despite these serious wounds, he again refused medical treatment until he was certain that every Marine, including all casualties, had made it back to the main lines, according to the citation.
Murphy’s injuries required considerable treatment aboard hospital ships offshore, in Japan and finally at a naval medical facility in California.
For his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” President Eisenhower awarded then-1st Lt. Murphy the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony Oct. 27, 1953. Murphy was promoted to captain the following year and left the Marine Corps Reserve in 1959.
He died in April at the age of 77. There is a bill in the House to name a veterans’ hospital in New Mexico after him.
Borch retired from the Army. He can be reached at borchfj@aol.com. Dorr is an Air Force veteran. He can be reached at robert.f.dorr@cox.net.
Ellie