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name
MURPHY, Leonard - Date of
birth
20 March 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusett -
Hometown
Needham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-809178 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
401st Fighter Squadron,
370th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
13 October 1944 - Place of
death
Gevelingshausen, 10 km east of Meschede, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Thomas J. Murphy (father)
Gertrude S. (Leonard) Murphy (mother)
Thomas J. Murphy, Jr (brother)
Edward Murphy (brother)
Richard Murphy (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-23685 -
Data
Type: P-38J
Destination: Hamm, Germany
Mission: Armed recconaissance
MACR: 9537
More information
Leonard Murphy attended college.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Boston, Massachusetts, on 18 May 1942.
Statement of 1st Lt Horace A. Plummer, who flew in the same mission: "I was flying No. 2 man for Lt Murphy. As we went in to dive-bomb, I followed him in. He strafed, dropped his bombs, broke to the left and continued the turn so as to follow the last man in and observe the bomb hits. I climbed back up to 6,000 feet with the rest of the flight and circled. I was unable to see where he went. I called him several times but got no answer."
His brother, Pfc Thomas J. Murphy, is buried at Epinal American Cemetery.
Source of information: Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, NARA, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census / WWII Draft Card
Photo source: FOHF, SOHE, The 370th Fighter Group in World War II, The Boston Globe - 27 November 1945