MURPHY, SSgt. William C., WWII

MURPHY, OSGRANDER, LANE

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 5/8/2013 at 12:16:26

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Friday, September 22, 1944, Page 12

S. Sgt. W. C. Murphy Gets
Air Medal at AAF Bomber Station

Clear Lake - S/Sgt. William C. MURPHY, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. MURPHY, E. Division street, has been awarded the air medal for "Exceptionally meritorious achievement while participating in sustained bomber combat operations over enemy occupied continental Europe," a dispatch from the 8th AAF bomber station, England, revealed Friday. S/Sgt. MURPHY has participated in more than 10 bombing attacks against targets in Germany and the occupied countries as a turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress.

S/Sgt. MURPHY attended Clear Lake high school and was employed as an installation mechanic by the Douglas Aircraft corporation prior to entering the service in April, 1943.

S/Sgt. MURPHY completed a course as an aviation mechanic at Amarillo, Texas, last January and received his wings as a flying gunner corporal at Las Vegas, Nev., late in February.

Mrs. MURPHY resides at 830 N. E 11th street, Oklahoma City, Okla.

~ ~ ~ ~

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Tuesday, December 19, 1944, Page 5

S-SGT. WILLIAM C. MURPHY REPORTED MISSING IN ACTION

Crew Forced to Bale Out of
Cripples Ship Near Belgian Border

Clear Lake, Mr. and Mrs. C. C. MURPHY, E. Division street, have received word that their son, S/Sgt. William C. MURPHY, is missing in action near the Belgian line since Nov. 16. They are hopeful that he is alive since they have received a letter which his pilot, who crash landed with his ship after the crew had baled out, wrote home. He said, "The rest are either prisoners or back to our lines. Anyway I'm pretty sure they are alive."

The plane, a B-17, fell near the Belgian line after being badly riddled over a German target according to word received from the war department. S/Sgt. MURPHY, first engineer, was participating in his 31st mission. The bomber, badly crippled by enemy anti-aircraft fire and with 2 motors missing, almost reached the Belgian border before the crew was forced to abandon it. The pilot, co-pilot and one other man stayed with the ship. The co-pilot was killed and the other injured but not too seriously.

MURPHY graduated from Clear Lake high school in the same class with Harris V. "Red" OSTRANDER and Jim LANE, both of whom are now in service. He entered the army in April, 1943, completed a course as an aviation mechanic at Amarillo, Texas, last January and received his wings as a flying gunner corporal at Las Vegas, Nev., late in February. He went overseas in July and has since received the distinguished flying cross and the air medal with 2 oak leaf clusters. He was expecting to get home for New Year's. His wife lives in Oklahoma City, Okla.

S/Sgt. MURPHY has a brother, Pfc. Richard MURPHY, who will have been overseas 3 years in February. He went with the national guard from Mason City and is now with an infantry division in Italy.

NOTE: SSgt. MURPHY was interred at Netherlands Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

Transcriptions and note by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2013

Cerro Gordo Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen