Robert Murphy, 505th PIR Pathfinder

[Charlie Flick]

 

From the Boston Globe of 10/9/08:

 

In Sainte-Mère-Eglise, a small town in the Normandy region of France, is Rue Robert Murphy, a street named in honor of the Roslindale lad who joined the Army at 17, parachuted there on D-day, and dedicated part of his life to maintaining the memory of the civilians and soldiers who died there on June 6, 1944.

 

His mission was historic, said retired Army Colonel Keith Nightingale of Santa Barbara, Calif., who frequently accompanied Mr. Murphy when he revisited the town on D-day anniversaries.

 

"It has been confirmed by historians that Bob Murphy was the first guy out and on the ground on the 82d's lift into Normandy," Nightingale said by phone. "He landed about a quarter after midnight on the sixth of June and was a member of the original pathfinder platoon, the 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment. This was the only regiment to land intact on D-day and exactly where it was supposed to, on a high grassy meadow, 1-mile due west of Sainte-Mère-Eglise."

 

One pathfinder job was to mark the drop zones for the paratroopers to follow. "Bob was the first on the ground and the last to leave," Nightingale said.

 

Mr. Murphy's role as paratrooper in the Normandy landing is depicted in Cornelius Ryan's book "The Longest Day" and the film based on it, as well as in Mr. Murphy's own book, "No Better Place to Die."

 

Mr. Murphy, who retired from the Army as a highly decorated colonel and became a Boston lawyer and state assistant attorney general, died of cancer at Cape Cod Hospital on Oct. 3. He was 83 and had lived in South Dennis and Bonita Springs, Fla.

 

He began making annual visits on D-day to Sainte-Mère-Eglise in the early 1960s, his family said, and made his last trip there in June.

 

Until 10 years ago, he made parachute jumps into the town with other veterans, said Nightingale, who met him there in 1977 and frequently went back when he did.

 

The anniversary jumps he made were in HALO - "high altitude low opening" - mode, Nightingale said. "For example, you jump out at 10,000 feet and don't pull the rip cord until 2,000 feet." A Frenchman, Yves Tarriel, often jumped with Mr. Murphy, he said.

 

Tarriel and Mr. Murphy had spearheaded the campaign to raise funds for a C-47 aircraft, the type the paratroopers used on D-day. It is now located in front of the Airborne Troops Museum, which Mr. Murphy helped start in Sainte-Mère-Eglise.

 

"Sainte-Mère-Eglise was the first town liberated by the United States on D-day, and those who lived there never forgot what Bob and other veterans did for them," Nightingale said.

 

"Bob kept going back there to keep what happened alive, and he would talk about it to the town's schoolchildren."

 

On Sunday, Nightingale said, the town of about 2,000 turned out for a funeral Mass for Mr. Murphy. There, Nightingale said, "D-day is still a current event. Bob was an icon there, the keeper of the flame."

 

There are different published accounts of Mr. Murphy's D-day parachute jump into town. His sister, Virginia Healy of Roslindale, said one has him landing in a garden and surprising a woman who lived there. He shushed her "by pressing a finger to his lips."

 

The Globe in 1994, on the 50th anniversary of D-day, reported that Mr. Murphy had landed "into the rescuing limbs of a huge, sprawling chestnut tree within the walled courtyard "of schoolteacher Madame Angele Levrault."

 

Those stories were rejected by Nightingale. Whatever the story, there was no doubt of Mr. Murphy's heroism and the mutual love between him and Sainte-Mère-Eglise residents.

 

Robert M. Murphy was born in Boston. At Roslindale High School, he was a star athlete and "broke all track records," his sister said. He was always patriotic, she said. He left before graduating to join the Army in 1942.

 

Mr. Murphy was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division under the command of Major General James M. Gavin. Before D-day, Mr. Murphy had fought in Italy, Holland, and Africa.

 

His injuries and heroism earned him three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, and the Legion of Honor.

 

Robert Healy of Scituate, a former Globe political editor whose brother is married to Mr. Murphy's sister, Virginia, said Mr. Murphy was "very casual" about his experiences.

 

"He was always the sort of soldier portrayed by [World War II cartoonist] Bill Mauldin." Mauldin captured the tribulations of the grunts through his characters Willie and Joe.

 

"Bob was an extraordinary symbol for their sacrifices," Healy said.

 

After his return to civilian life, Mr. Murphy studied law at Suffolk University and graduated in 1950. He did postgraduate study at Harvard University. In Boston, he practiced law with the firm of Murphy and Murphy.

 

From 1980 to 1991, he was a state assistant attorney general.

 

Mr. Murphy's first wife, Joanne (Murray), died in 1962 after 16 years of marriage. His second, Barbara (Atwood), died in 2002 after 35 years of marriage.

 

Besides his sister, Mr. Murphy leaves a son, Dion of Bonita Springs, Fla., and a daughter, Christina Murphy Mazgelis of Barnstable; four stepchildren, Robert Wilkinson, Cheryl Ludwig, Helen Mazzoni, and Dana Lukens; his companion, Gloria O'Brien of Concord; numerous grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.

 

An honor guard of the 82d Airborne Division was at Mr. Murphy's services yesterday.

[Johan Willaert]

Bob in Normandy last June.... He loved to come back to Normandy...

 

[pathfinder505]

I bought 2 of his books just a few months ago and he autographed them for me. I have corresponded with him by email and phone on numerous occasions. He was a Great person and a Great American! He will be missed.

[jgawne]

I knew Bob back in the 80's. Nice guy.

[Sgt. Rock]

Johan:

 

Thank you for informing me of Bob's passing. The last we e-mailed was September 23, 2008. Bob and a few other men from the 82nd helped me understand that action at La Fière on 9 June 1944. My cousin, Pvt. Earl Phillips 401st/325th GIR was mortally wounded during the assault on the causeway. I have spoken, e-mailed and corresponded with Bob, Wayne Pierce, Chester Walker and Bud Olson concerning the events of that day. Each one of these men has been more than kind, and each man, has done his utmost to be accessible.

 

Also, when my wife and I were in Normandy visiting my cousin's gravesite at the American Cemetery on August 6, 2007, Bob was there. He recalled my cousin's grave as the lettering had been filled-in with sand so we could take photographs. Bob and a few others, including Wayne Pierce were there after my wife and I had left to go down to Omaha Beach. We talked bout that coincidence on a couple of occasions.

 

Bob was a very patient, kind and understanding man. I will always hold him in high esteem and consider myself lucky to have known him.

 

Take care,

 

Ed