Richard Joseph Murphy, Jr.
Staff Sergeant Richard J. Murphy, Jr., served with H&S Company, 6th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Saipan on 15 June 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 405233
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of 25 July 2018
Recovery Organization
WFI Research Group
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Official Profile
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 7, 1918
in Washington, DC
Parents
Richard Joseph Murphy, Sr.
Mary Winifred (Carroll) Murphy
Education
Central High School (1936)
Georgetown University (1940)
Occupation & Employer
Journalist
Washington Evening Star
Service Life
Entered Service
June 3, 1942
at Washington, DC
Home Of Record
107 East Woodbine Street
Chevy Chase, MD
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Richard Murphy Sr.
Military Specialty
Combat correspondent
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Richard J. Murphy, Jr., left his job at the Washington Evening Star to enlist in the Marine Corps in the summer of 1942. As a professional journalist, he was assigned duty as a combat correspondent in the Canal Zone before transferring to the 6th Marines in mid-1943. Murphy made his first combat landing at Tarawa on 21 November 1943, and his reports on the battle were published in newspapers across the country.
On 15 June 1944, Staff Sergeant Murphy boarded a landing craft for the assault on Saipan. The craft was hit before reaching the beach; Murphy was last seen aiding a wounded comrade aboard, or diving into the sea to help a floundering Marine. He never reached the shore, and was reported as missing in action. In May 1945, Murphy’s status was officially changed to killed in action.
Burial Information or Disposition
Although Murphy was certainly killed on 15 June 1944, his remains were not identified during the war or by Graves Registration troops working on Saipan in the latter part of the decade.
In 2015, WFI Research Group founder Ted Darcy identified a potential match between SSgt. Murphy and “X-15,” an unidentified individual previously buried in the Second Marine Division Cemetery on Saipan. His persistent efforts led to the exhumation of X-15 in 2017; family DNA samples collected the following year confirmed Murphy’s identity. Staff Sergeant Murphy was buried beside his mother in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in 2018.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
The Murphy family resided at 107 East Woodbine Street, Chevy Chase, MD.
Location Of Loss
Murphy was last seen in the vicinity of Saipan’s Red Beach landing zone.
