Murphy entered the navy on 9 Dec. 1940 in Boston and stepped onto his first ship, the USS Louisville CA-28 Heavy Cruiser on 6 Feb. 1941 and served aboard her until 1946 when he was transferred (Chief Gunner’s Mate at the time) to the battleship South Dakota. He served in the Korean War (I could not find too much about his Korean service).

Murphy received his commission as a Naval Officer in 1962. He was in command of the Naval Brig in Philadelphia Naval Yard for a time in 1968 and also served in the Vietnam War with the Inshore Undersea Warfare Group 1 Unit 4 as the Officer In Charge (OIC) of Harbor Defense in Nah Trang area of operation. LCDR Murphy did three tours in Vietnam retiring in the early 1970’s.

The history of his ship in WW2, USS Louisville is amazing! Murphy served on her through the entire WW2. She (USS Louisville CA-28) was involved in most major battles and troop landings of the Pacific campaign…

When the United States officially entered the war in Dec 1941, Louisville was on an escorting mission from the Caribbean Sea to Hawaii. In Feb and Mar 1942, she escorted carriers when they raided Japanese bases in Gilbert, Marshall, and Solomon Islands areas. She spent some time in the Aleutian Islands area before being sent back to South Pacific for the closing stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign. On 29 Jan 1943, she participated in the Battle of Rennell Island, where she was hit by a dud torpedo and after the battle towed cruiser Chicago until tug Navajo took over the job. In Apr 1943, she returned to the Aleutian Islands as a part of Task Force 16. In the North Pacific, she covered the assault and occupation of Attu Island from 11 to 30 May and then the pre-invasion bombardment of Kiska in Aug 1943.

After the overhaul, Louisville was tasked with providing pre-landing naval gunfire support at Wotje, Kwajalein and Eniwetok atolls in the Marshall Islands between Jan and Feb 1944, while flying the flag of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. She escorted carriers during Central Pacific raids in Mar 1944 and bombarded Japanese positions Truk and Sawatan in Apr 1944. In Jun and Jul, she bombarded Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. After the Mariana Islands action, she retired to the rear area until mid-Sep. In Sep and Oct, she bombarded Peleliu and Leyte, respectively. In the night of 24 to 25 Oct, she participated in the Battle of the Surigao Strait where the large surface action resulted in heavy losses for the Japanese Navy. After the Leyte actions, she rejoined the fast carriers as a part of Task Force 38, and attacked Japanese positions on the shores of Luzon. On 5 and 6 Jan 1945, Louisville was struck by two Kamikaze special attack aircraft while supporting American operations in the Philippine Islands. She remained in the area briefly to complete her shore bombardment mission, and then was withdrawn to Mare Island Navy Yard in the United States for permanent repairs. She returned to the war in May 1945 with Task Force 54 to provide naval gunfire support during the Okinawa Campaign, where she was once again hit by a suicide aircraft on 5 Jun; after temporary repairs, she was back on the firing line by 9 Jun, but departed for Pearl Harbor for permanent repairs a week later. She was at Pearl Harbor when the war ended. Louisville left Pearl Harbor on 15 Aug 1945 and headed back for post-war operations. She supervised the rescue of Allied POWs in Manchuria and then witnessed the surrender of Japanese vessels by Vice Admiral Kaneko in Tsingtao. She remained off the Chinese coast until Oct 1945. Louisville was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the United States in Jun 1946. She was sold to the Marlene Blouse Corporation of New York for scrap on 14 Sep 1959.

Video of Jap kamikaze hitting the USS Louisville in the Philippines in 1945. Not sure if this is when Murphy was wounded…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFPb4XMuJWc

Firsthand account of the ship being struck

http://www.kamikazeimages.net/books/ships/louisville/index.htm

Wallace G Murphy