1/ As we celebrate Veterans Day, I want to lift up the story of my late grandfather, Val Murphy (his grandkids called him “Pop”), and the unique role he played in World War Two.
Here he is - a new recruit - in 1943, with my great Uncle Fred. Pop is on the left.
2/ Pop had just received his engineering degree from Duke, so he was recruited to join the Army Corp of Engineers.
During a one week leave in December 1943 he married my grandmother. Days later, he was shipped off to Europe. They wouldn’t see each other again for two years.
3/ After D-Day, one of the primary obstacles confronting the Allies were all the bridges that had been destroyed or damaged by Hitler in an effort to frustrate the Allies’ advance.
Pop was assigned to Patton’s Third Army to build and repair bridges, and to do it FAST.
4/ These are photos of the bridges he helped build across Belgium, France, and Germany.
One story Pop told was of the time Patton pulled up to a bridge that wasn’t 100% finished and Pop had to nervously explain to the famously impatient general that it wasn’t safe to cross yet.
5/ Pop wasn’t infantry, but he was always in harm’s way. His job required him to be constantly on the front lines (since bridges came before the troop advances).
And the speed of construction meant safety wasn’t always first. Here he is after being hit in the head by a crane.
6/ After Berlin fell, Pop couldn’t come home. There were bridges to be built in the Pacific. In August 1945 he was on a ship bound for the Pacific theater when the bombs were dropped on Japan.
He was diverted to the Philippines and built bridges there for a few months.
7/ He got back to Connecticut in a snow storm, Christmas 1945. The cabbie who picked him up at Union Station in Hartford, and drove to Wethersfield through the storm, wouldn’t accept payment from a returning young vet.
16 months later, his first child, my father, was born.
8/ Like most veterans, Pop’s commitment to service didn’t end once he came home.
He built an engineering business in Connecticut, was an active member of his church, helped lead efforts to build affordable senior housing in Wethersfield. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
9/ I’m so proud of my Pop. He was a strong, quiet type. And I wish I had tried harder to pierce his veil and learn more about his life. But he led by example. Just like so many great Americans we celebrate today - Veterans Day 2021.
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