Robert Charles Murray
Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
Vietnam War

Staff Sergeant Robert Charles Murray (10 December 1946 - 7 June 1970) was a U.S. Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Robert Charles Murray was born on 10 December 1946, in Bronx, NY. Murray was studying at Harvard Business School (MBA 1970 Section F) when he left early and joined the Army from New York City in 1969. On 7 June 1970, Murray was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company B, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 196th Infantry Brigade, 23d Infantry Division. On that day, near the village of Hiep Duc in the Republic of Vietnam, Murray covered the blast of a booby-trapped grenade with his body, sacrificing his life to protect the soldiers around him. For his heroic self-sacrifice he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Citation: S/Sgt. Murray distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with Company B. S/Sgt. Murray's squad was searching for an enemy mortar that had been threatening friendly positions when a member of the squad tripped an enemy grenade rigged as a booby trap. Realizing that he had activated the enemy booby trap, the soldier shouted for everybody to take cover. Instantly assessing the danger to the men of his squad, S/Sgt. Murray unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own safety, threw himself on the grenade absorbing the full and fatal impact of the explosion. By his gallant action and self-sacrifice, he prevented the death or injury of the other members of his squad. S/Sgt. Murray's extraordinary courage and gallantry, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Murray's Medal of Honor was presented to his family at Blair House in Washington, DC, by Vice President Gerald R. Ford on 8 August 1974.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Purple Hear

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Robert Charles Murray's name is inscribed on Panel 09W - Line 24.

Death and Burial

Staff Sergeant Robert Charles Murray was killed in action on 7 June 1970. He is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.