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Frederick C. Murphy (July 27, 1918 – March 19, 1945) was a recipient of the
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 valor ...
during World War II while serving as a medic in the US 65th Infantry Division.


Background

Murphy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived in Quincy and attended the
Thayer Academy Thayer Academy (TA) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory day school located in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. The academy, conceived in 1871 at the bequest of General Sylvanus Thayer, known as the father of the United ...
in Braintree from where he graduated in 1939. He entered the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
later that year. The Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
in 1941 caused him to attempt to enlist with the U.S. Army. He was denied after failing two physical examinations and classified IV-F. After surgery to correct back problems, he successfully enlisted in November 1943 at Weymouth where he then lived. He became a medic in the U.S. Army 259th Infantry of the 65th Infantry Division. His basic training was at
Camp Shelby, Mississippi Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to s ...
, and his medical and surgical technician training was at the
Fitzsimons General Hospital Fitzsimons Army Hospital, also known as Fitzsimons General Hospital and renamed Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC) in 1974, was a U.S. Army facility located on in Aurora, Colorado. The facility opened in 1918 and closed in 1999. The grounds ...
in
Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in A ...
.


Medal of Honor citation

*Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 259th Infantry, 65th Infantry Division. *Place and date:
Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the we ...
at Saarlautern, Germany, March 18, 1945. *Entered service at: Weymouth, Mass. *Birth: Boston, Mass. *G.O. No.: 21, February 26, 1946. *Citation:An aid man, he was wounded in the right shoulder soon after his comrades had jumped off in a dawn attack 18 March 1945, against the
Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the we ...
at Saarlautern, Germany. He refused to withdraw for treatment and continued forward, administering first aid under heavy machinegun, mortar, and artillery fire. When the company ran into a thickly sown antipersonnel minefield and began to suffer more and more casualties, he continued to disregard his own wound and unhesitatingly braved the danger of exploding mines, moving about through heavy fire and helping the injured until he stepped on a mine which severed one of his feet. In spite of his grievous wounds, he struggled on with his work, refusing to be evacuated and crawling from man to man administering to them while in great pain and bleeding profusely. He was killed by the blast of another mine which he had dragged himself across in an effort to reach still another casualty. With indomitable courage, and unquenchable spirit of self-sacrifice and supreme devotion to duty which made it possible for him to continue performing his tasks while barely able to move, Pfc. Murphy saved many of his fellow soldiers at the cost of his own life. PFC Murphy is buried at Lorraine Cemetery north of
Saint-Avold Saint-Avold (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Sänt Avuur'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated twenty-eight miles (45 km) east of Metz, France and seventeen miles (27 km) southwest ...
,
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...
, France. He left a wife and a daughter born two months after his death.


Namesakes

A
victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slig ...
, hull number 821, (VC2-S-AP2/WSAT) the USAT ''Private Frederick C Murphy'', was named in his honor. The ship had originally been named SS ''Maritime Victory'' when it launched in 1945. It displaced 7,607 gross tons, and had an overall length of 455 feet, and beam of 62 feet. This ship was moored at Beaumont Reserve (Texas) and was sold for scrap in 2008. Murphy Barracks in Stuttgart Germany was named for Pvt. Murphy. The National Archives facility in
Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...
was named the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center to honor Murphy. Frederick C. Murphy Primary school in Weymouth, MA. Murphy was honored by his alma mater and
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
Class of 1943 classmates at their 55th reunion in 1998 by (a) featuring his name as the most prominent name on the rebuilt University of Pennsylvania War Memorial on South 33rd Street, at the gateway to
The Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 South ...
and
Franklin Field Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, track an ...
, and (b) dedicating to Murphy their class gift by naming the revamped circulation area at Penn's main
Van Pelt Library The Charles Patterson Van Pelt Library (also known as the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, and simply Van Pelt) is the primary library at the University of Pennsylvania. The building was designed by architects Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Lars ...
as the Frederick C. Murphy circulation area.


See also

*
List of Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...


References

Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973). Updated and reprinted, 1979.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Frederick 1945 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers Combat medics United States Army personnel killed in World War II 1918 births World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor