1. By: Jeremy Miulli, Louis Vasquez, Johnny Chicollo. Corona. U.S. History P.2 4-2-10

3. In June of 1940 Mr. Murray enlisted in the U.S. Army. His mother died in 1934 and then decided he would dedicate his life to the military. He then joined the Rhode Island National Guard.

4. In 1940 he enlisted in the army and sailed from Brooklyn, N.Y. to be stationed at Scholfield Barracks, on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the 8 th Field Artillery Regiment.

5. Mr. Murray was assigned to the 25 th Infantry Division a few months before the dreadful attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

6. Late on the night of December 6 th 1941 Mr. Murray and his buddies were out having a good time at a bar and later returned to Schofield Barracks from Honolulu. Little did he know this was the last time he would see some of those men…

7. As Mr. Murray recalled: early the next morning while he was taking his morning shower he heard commotion outside his room. He thought they were doing morning bombing drills. Out the window to his surprise was “the rising sun” of a Jap plane going over head.

8. Mr. Murray and his friends were instructed to gather women and children and get them into large refrigerator boxes for protection. Then they loaded all their equipment onto trucks to take their positions on the beach.

9. While waiting for their positions to be readied, Mr. Murray and the 11,000 others passed the time listening to the radio for any news on the unprovoked attack. They would discover that Pearl Harbor and the city of Honolulu would fall victim and even rumors would swirl of a poison gas attack. It wasn’t until later in the day that Mr. Murray finally reached his assigned position on the beach where the artillery placements were.

12. Mr. Murray sailed from Hawaii, not knowing his destination would be the island of Guadalcanal. There they would relieve the 1 st Marine Division.

13. “The taking of these islands were some of the hardest fought in the South Pacific.” Stated Mr. Murray. While in Guadalcanal he fought his way through the jungle always on the look out for the Japanese. They were said to be high up in the trees waiting for an unlucky soldier to walk down the path. After fierce fighting they accomplished their mission and took the island from the Japanese, then advanced to the island of New Georgia. While unloading supplies a torpedo explosion ejected Mr. Murray from the ship. He landed on his shoulder disabling him. After spending nine months recovering in a New Zealand hospital, he was sent back to the states.

14. Army Reserve Meritorious ServiceGood ConductArmy ComponentMedal Medal Commendation Achievement Medal medal

15. AmericanAmerican AsiaticWorld War II DefenseCampaignPacificVictory MedalMedalMedalMedal

16. National Defense Armed Forces Service Medal Reserve Medal With BronzeWith 2 Hour StarGlass

17. Mr. Murray was discharged from duty and stated: “it was a great experience. One you live through but don’t want to repeat.”

18. Having met Rosemary Westlake in 1940, Mr. Murray kept up correspondence with her. She and her girl friends organized a club and wrote to many of the boys from her home town who volunteered when the war started.

19. Mr. and Mrs. Murray were married on September 15, 1945 and were married for 61 years before he passed away on February 19, 2007

20. Mr. and Mrs. Murray were married in Westport, Connecticut and lived there for the next 20 years.

21. Following the war, Mr. Murray would have a short stint with the Westport police department, would own a trucking company and finally a night club before moving the family to Riverside.

22. Mr. and Mrs. Murray had eight children, the the oldest of which would join the Air Force and see action during the Vietnam War.

23. In total, Mr. Murray spent 34 years 6 months and 19 days in service to his country.

24. Mr. Murray having lived such a great life for such a long time had one last thing to say before he went to fight the big war… “This is my recollection of that very eventful day, a long and scary one, with my imagination running at full speed.”