Rank and organization: First Lieutenant,
U.S. Army, Company C, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near
Kaysersberg, France, 16 December 1944. Entered service at: Wilmington, N.C. Birth:
Baltimore, Md. G.O. No.: 63, 1 August 1945.
Citation:
For commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative
near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into
enemy territory. Descending into a valley beneath hilltop positions held by our troops, he
observed a force of 200 Germans pouring deadly mortar, bazooka, machinegun, and small arms
fire into an American battalion occupying the crest of the ridge. The enemy's position in
a sunken road, though hidden from the ridge, was open to a flank attack by 1st Lt.
Murray's patrol but he hesitated to commit so small a force to battle with the superior
and strongly disposed enemy. Crawling out ahead of his troops to a vantage point, he
called by radio for artillery fire. His shells bracketed the German force, but when he was
about to correct the range his radio went dead. He returned to his patrol, secured
grenades and a rifle to launch them and went back to his self-appointed outpost. His first
shots disclosed his position; the enemy directed heavy fire against him as he methodically
fired his missiles into the narrow defile. Again he returned to his patrol. With an
automatic rifle and ammunition, he once more moved to his exposed position. Burst after
burst he fired into the enemy, killing 20, wounding many others, and completely
disorganizing its ranks, which began to withdraw. He prevented the removal of 3 German
mortars by knocking out a truck. By that time a mortar had been brought to his support.
1st Lt. Murray directed fire of this weapon, causing further casualties and confusion in
the German ranks. Calling on his patrol to follow, he then moved out toward his original
objective, possession of a bridge and construction of a roadblock. He captured 10 Germans
in foxholes. An eleventh, while pretending to surrender, threw a grenade which knocked him
to the ground, inflicting 8 wounds. Though suffering and bleeding profusely, he refused to
return to the rear until he had chosen the spot for the block and had seen his men
correctly deployed. By his single-handed attack on an overwhelming force and by his
intrepid and heroic fighting, 1st Lt. Murray stopped a counterattack, established an
advance position against formidable odds, and provided an inspiring example for the men of
his command.
