Stuart Shadrick Murray (22 March 1898 – 19 September 1980) was a vice admiral of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

who served during World War II.

Early life and career

Born in Delia, Texas he graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1919. In the 1920s, Murray was involved in constructing the submarine base at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. Nicknamed "Sunshine" and "the Gentle Giant", Murray was a

plankowner A plankowner"U.S. Navy Style Guide", Navy.mil website (also referred to a plank ownerCutler and Cutler, p 167 and sometimes a plank holder) is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard Cu ...

aboard , placing her in commission on 15 August 1935. As ComSubDiv 15, in October 1941, he was assigned to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

,Blair, p.82. home of the Asiatic Fleet. Along with Joseph Connolly's SubDiv 16, Murray's

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

made up Submarine Squadron 2 (SubRon2), under ComSubAsia Captain Walter Doyle (nicknamed "Red") in , who answered to Admiral

Thomas C. Hart Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Se ...

. They comprised the entirety of the brand-new .

World War II

When the Japanese attacked the Philippines, Wilkes (who ended up being "special adviser" to Doyle, who had no experience in Asia), his chief of staff, Jimmy Fife, and Murray warned their skippers to be cautious. The initial plan, to rely on information from General Lewis Brereton's

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

aircraft, failed the first day, when General MacArthur failed to preserve them from Japanese attack. Murray was not aided by the abysmal performance of the

Mark 14 torpedo The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II. This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war. It was supplemented by the Mark 18 elec ...

, either. On Christmas Day 1941, Murray moved into quarters in the tunnels of Corregidor with all of ComSubAsia's top staff (him, Fife, Wilkes, and Doyle, everyone who had not fled with and equipment (one typewriter and a radio receiver). As the defeat became evident, Wilkes ordered all submarine crewmen out; on 1 January 1942, Murray boarded Chet Smith's with Wilkes and others, to join Hart in Soerabaja. After fleeing the Philippines, Hart pulled Murray's boats back to Fremantle (in keeping with Navy Department instructions), where Murray came under the command of his old boss from SubDiv 13Blair, p.282. Charles Lockwood's

Task Force 51 Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplished ...

, becoming chief of staff of SubRon 2, under Jimmy Fife (also one of Lockwood's old Division 13 skippers). With the death of Robert H. English, Lockwood was named

ComSubPac Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet ( COMPACFLT) for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force (SUBPAC) includes attack, ballistic missile and au ...

in his stead,Blair, p.368. taking Murray as his Chief of Staff (replacing John Griggs), over the objections of "Chips" Carpender, ComSubSoWestPac. Near the end of 1943, Murray was named Commandant of Midshipmen at Annapolis, rather than to a new submarine squadron. Among the midshipmen at the Academy during Murray's tenure were future president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

and future vice admiral and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient James B. Stockdale. Murray took command of the battleship in May 1945, and was responsible for the preparations for the signing of the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

on 2 September 1945.

Post war

Murray was ComSubLant from 1950 until 1952. Murray was promoted to vice admiral (three-star) on December 7, 1955 and assigned as

Naval Inspector General The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Department of the Navy was established during World War II to make investigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. The current mission of the Na ...

.Blair, p.881. He retired in August 1956 and was promoted to admiral (four star) on the retired list in recognition of his wartime service.

Awards

* Distinguished Service Medal * Legion of Merit * World War I Victory Medal *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

with "FLEET" clasp * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

Navy Occupation Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

Philippine Defense Medal The Philippine Defense Medal is a military award and decoration of the Republic of the Philippines which is awarded to recognize the initial resistance against Japanese invasion between the dates of 8 December 1941 and 15 June 1942. The award was ...

Notes

References

* Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory''. New York: Bantam, 1976 (reprints Lippincott 1975 edition). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Stuart 1898 births 1980 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Limestone County, Texas United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy Inspectors General Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Texas