POWMIA.INFO

Marine Killed During World War II Accounted For (Murphy, R.)

By DPAA Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2018 - Marine Corps Reserve Staff Sgt. Richard J. Murphy, killed during World War II, was accounted for on July 25.

On June 15, 1944, Murphy was a member of 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed at Red Beach, Saipan, when American forces participated in the battle for the island of Saipan, part of a larger operation to secure the Mariana Islands. Reports provide little information of what happened to Murphy after landing on Saipan, and he was declared missing in action as of June 15, 1944. On May 22, 1945, his status was amended to killed in action.

DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.

Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Murphy’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, along with the others missing from WWII. Although interred as an Unknown in Manila American Cemetery, Murphy’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the ABMC. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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