| Frederick C. Murphy | |
| Birth Date: | 27 July 1918 |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Death Place: | Saarlautern, Germany |
| Placeofburial: | Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, Moselle, France |
| Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
| Medal: | cmoh army.jpg |
| Allegiance: | United States of America |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1943-1945 |
| Rank: | Private First Class |
| Unit: | 259th Infantry, 65th Infantry Division |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Awards: | Medal of Honor Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster Bronze Star Medal Good Conduct Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with bronze service star American Campaign Medal |
Frederick C. Murphy (July 27, 1918 – March 19, 1945) was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II while serving as a medic in the US 65th Infantry Division.
Murphy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived in Quincy and attended the Thayer Academy in Braintree from where he graduated in 1939. He entered the University of Pennsylvania later that year. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 caused him to attempt to enlist with the U.S. Army. He was denied after failing two physical examinations and classified IV-F. After surgery to correct back problems, he successfully enlisted in November 1943 at Weymouth where he then lived. He became a medic in the U.S. Army 259th Infantry of the 65th Infantry Division. His basic training was at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and his medical and surgical technician training was at the Fitzsimons General Hospital in Aurora, Colorado.[1]
PFC Murphy is buried at Lorraine Cemetery north of Saint-Avold, Lorraine, France.[2] He left a wife and a daughter born two months after his death.
A victory ship, hull number 821, (VC2-S-AP2/WSAT) the USAT Private Frederick C Murphy, was named in his honor. The ship had originally been named SS Maritime Victory when it launched in 1945. It displaced 7,607 gross tons, and had an overall length of 455 feet, and beam of 62 feet. This ship was moored at Beaumont Reserve (Texas) and was sold for scrap in 2008.
Murphy Barracks in Stuttgart Germany was named for Pvt. Murphy.[3] [4]
The National Archives facility in Waltham, Massachusetts was named the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center to honor Murphy.[1]
Frederick C. Murphy Primary school in Weymouth, MA.[5]
Murphy was honored by his alma mater and University of Pennsylvania Class of 1943 classmates at their 55th reunion in 1998 by (a) featuring his name as the most prominent name on the rebuilt University of Pennsylvania War Memorial on South 33rd Street, at the gateway to The Palestra and Franklin Field, and (b) dedicating to Murphy their class gift by naming the revamped circulation area at Penn's main Van Pelt Library as the Frederick C. Murphy circulation area.[6]
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973). Updated and reprinted, 1979.