Second Lieutenant Martin Patrick Murray
WWII Army Air Corps. Aviator Lost in The South Pacific over 67 years ago
Second Lieutenant Martin Patrick Murray
WWII Army Air Corps. Aviator Lost in The South Pacific over 67 years ago
MOROBE PROVINCE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA Martin Patrick Murray, 22, of Lowell passed away on October 28, 1944. He was the co-pilot of a B-24D Liberator aircraft that was lost in the South Pacific while on a reconnoissance mission during World War II.
Born March 13, 1922, in Lowell, he was the son of the late Martin A. and the late Katherine M. (Clancy) Murray, and he was educated in the local schools. He grew up in South Lowell, on Cosgrove Street and was a communicant of the former Sacred Heart Parish.
He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in March of 1942, and quickly rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant. On October 27, 1943, he and his crew were on a reconnoissance mission of the shipping lanes in the Bismarck Sea. Shortly before losing radio contact, the crew was told to abort the mission due to poor weather conditions. The crew was never heard from again, and despite numerous search efforts, ultimately the 12 crewmen were placed in the status of presumed dead.
In August of 2003 it was reported to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command that the wreckage of a WWII era aircraft was found in the Morobe Province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. After unsuccessful attempts to reach the site in 2003 and 2004, the site was reached in 2005 and identified as the B-24D Liberator that was lost with Second Lieutenant Murray and crew. After recovering what was possible, the site was excavated in early 2007. It was then that the remains of Second Lieutenant Murray and the 11 other men were finally recovered, and then identified by the Armed Services DNA Identification Laboratory.
When he passed away in 1944, he was survived by his parents, and his three sisters; Mary Claire Murray, of Lowell, Catherine S. Murray of Lowell, and Eileen M. and her husband Henry S. Trembley of Boston. During the 64 years that he was missing, all of his immediate family have passed away, currently he is survived by many cousins in the New England area.
AT THE FAMILY'S REQUEST, 2ND LT. MURRAY'S CALLING HOURS AND FUNERAL SERVICE WILL BE HELD PRIVATELY ON SATURDAY APRIL 16, 2011 AT THE MCDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND STREET, LOWELL 978-458-6816. YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE FAMILY FOR HIS BURIAL WITH FULL MILITARY HONORS INCLUDING A MILITARY AIRCRAFT FLYOVER AT ST. PATRICK CEMETERY ( 1251 Gorham St. Lowell )BETWEEN 10:15 AND 11 A.M. MILITARY AIRCRAFT FLYOVER AT 10:45 A.M.. PLEASE VISIT US AT MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM TO SEND THE FAMILY AN E-CONDOLENCE AT ANY TIME.
Funeral procession route, and cemetery grave location.
