Original WWII CC home at last

Marine WWII KIA, TSgt. Richard Murphy, came home to Maryland and was buried with full military honors next to his mother in Silver Spring, Maryland Dec. 1, following a funeral mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville. One of Murphy’s nieces, Jeanne Robinson, chatted with CC National President Keith Oliver at a post re-internment reception.

Murphy had original been hastily buried in a trench immediately following the Battle of Saipan and was re-buried in a Manilla cemetery until this year when Murphy’s nephew, Gerard wrapped up a long season of inquiry and persistence.

He was aided in his efforts by retired Marine Maj. Jerry Miller, Dale Dye’s former battalion commander, as well as by a group of Japanese citizens involved in the returning of remains from both sides of the Pacific. (Photo by George Robinson).