The Wall › Panel 9W › New York › Robert Charles Murray
ROBERT CHARLES MURRAY
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
December 10, 1946 – June 7, 1970
Medal of Honor StoryPortrait: U.S. armed forces, via Wikimedia Commons.
Robert Charles Murray, of Tuckahoe, New York, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on June 7, 1970, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, at age 23. His name is inscribed on Panel 9W, Line 24 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Medal of Honor · awarded posthumously
For conspicuous gallantry
Robert Charles Murray received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for his actions on June 7, 1970. The official citation reads:
Staff Sergeant Murray's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
S/Sgt. Murray distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with Company B. S/Sgt. Murray's squad was searching for an enemy mortar that had been threatening friendly positions when a member of the squad tripped an enemy grenade rigged as a booby trap. Realizing that he had activated the enemy booby trap, the soldier shouted for everybody to take cover. Instantly assessing the danger to the men of his squad, S/Sgt. Murray unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own safety, threw himself on the grenade absorbing the full and fatal impact of the explosion. By his gallant action and self sacrifice, he prevented the death or injury of the other members of his squad. S/Sgt. Murray's extraordinary courage and gallantry, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Citation text as reproduced in Wikipedia’s article on Robert Charles Murray; Medal of Honor citations are official U.S. government records. See also the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and all Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall.
On the Wall
Panel 9W · Line 24
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 196 LIGHT INF BDE
- Born
- December 10, 1946
- Home of record
- Tuckahoe, New York (Westchester County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 7, 1970
- Age
- 23
- Province
- Quang Tin
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Explosive Device
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date June 7, 1970; three of them were lost in Quảng Tín Province. In June 1970, 560 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 16 of its members that month.
Read the history
Also on Panel 9W, Line 24
- MICHAEL CLINT HOPECaptain · June 7, 1970
- MARVIN EUGENE NEELEYCorporal · June 7, 1970
- BRUCE ROBERT NEESONSergeant · June 7, 1970
- CRISTOBAL RIVERA-CRUZSpecialist Four · June 7, 1970
Same unit, same day
- BRUCE ROBERT NEESONSergeant · Panel 9W, Line 24
From Tuckahoe
- JAMES SAMUELSSergeant · November 27, 1967
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. The Medal of Honor citation above is the official account of his actions. See something wrong? Report a correction.