John Einar Murray (22 November 1918 – 1 September 2008) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Major general, who served as Defense Attaché to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life

Murray was born on 22 November 1918 in

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area.L ...

Military service

While studying at St. John's University, he was drafted into the Army on 9 July 1941 just before the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Murray was promoted to warrant officer on 11 September 1942 and commissioned as a second lieutenant on 6 January 1943. He later completed an LL.B. degree at

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

in October 1949 and an M.A. degree in international affairs at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1961. Murray also graduated from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

in 1961. Murray's Army career spanned three wars and ten military campaigns. He was promoted to Brigadier general on 2 June 1970 and Major general on 1 March 1972. General Tran Van Chon and Tran Van Minh

In January 1973, Murray was appointed as Defense Attaché to

. In late August 1974, Murray wrote that “without proper support the RVNAF (Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces) are going lose, maybe not next week, or next month, but after the year they are going to.” Murray retired from active duty in the Army on 1 September 1974.

Later life

In June 1975, Murray was conferred an honorary LL.D. degree by New York Law School. In 1988, Murray was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. He retired from government service in 1989. After his death in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

in 2008, he was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

with his wife Elaine Claire Murray (10 September 1921 – 3 May 1970).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John E. 1918 births 2008 deaths People from Clifton, New Jersey Military personnel from Passaic County, New Jersey St. John's University (New York City) alumni United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II New York Law School alumni United States Army personnel of the Korean War Elliott School of International Affairs alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Department of Defense officials Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery