USS Murphy

USS Murphy. . , Lost world war two US Warship Found , On October 21, 1943, while waiting to perform anti-submarine escort duty for a convoy heading out of New York Harbor, the USS Murphy was struck by the tanker SS Bulkoil, cutting the destroyer in half. Two hundred and eleven men were rescued after and eleven men were rescued after the collision, but thirty-five sailors lost their lives when the bow of the Murphy sank in the Atlantic. The stern of the ship remained afloat and was towed back to New York for repairs. After being refitted with a new bow. The Murphy went on to distinguish itself in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific theatres of the war., In August 2002, deep sea divers under command of Captain Dan Crowell investigated an unidentified wreck 260 feet below the surface. On September 18, 2022, Captain Crowell and his divers found evidence that the wreck was the USS Murphy's bow, the US Navy grave site for those thirty-five men who had lost their lives nearly sixty years earlier., The Story of the Murphy , The destroyer USS Murphy DD603 was launched on April 29, 1942. She was commissioned July 27, 1942 and later that year assigned to the center attack group, Western Naval Task Force., The Murphy's service in world war two included: ,

The invasion of North Africa in 1942 , The invasion of Sicily in 1943 , The Normandy Invasion (D-Day) in 1944 , The invasion of Southern France 1944

, In addition, the destroyer served as an escort for convoys traveling in the enemy-infested Atlantic., Early in 1945, the Murphy escorted the cruiser Quincy carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt from Norfolk to the Yalta and the Great Bitter Lake Conferences. With the fifth fleet, in September 1945, the Murphy sailed to Japan and escorted the hospital ship Sanctuary to bring allied prisoners of war home., The Murphy received four battle stars. She was decommissioned March 9, 1946., In Memory of Our Shipmates , Burrell, Clyde C. . Calhoun, Harold G. . Geisen, Thomas E. . Gordon, Lawrence C. . Hank, Wilbur L. . Huffman, Clyde H., Jr. . Jarosz, Bronislaus . Jenkins, Hayes E. . Johnston, Radford . Keith, Charles O. . Kupchak, Frank . Lewis, Frank . McPadden, Thomas . Murphy, Ray . Murphy, C.B. . Nowakowski, Leo J. . Nucci, Vincent F. . Nunes, Frederick . Parlaham, James W. . Perkins, Robert L. . Reid, A.M., Jr. . Rotz, Harry . Sauchelli, Augustus . Schaffer, Joseph P. . Shumaker, William L. . Simmons, Everett O. . Simmons, George E. . Smart, William J. Jr. . Taylor, William W. . Walker, WIllie L. . Watson, Wilfred C. . Weinheimer, Charles . Weik, Gilmor E. . Wishard, Raymond B. . Wolford, Vincent A., The USS Murphy grave site lies 71 nautical miles true east of Surf City. 39°39'N 72°34'W