Long Awaited Medals Finally Awarded to Utah Veteran Bill Murray

VFW Commander Ralph Lewis (right) pinned four U.S. Armed Forces medals on Bill Murray (center), with VFW Quartermaster Tim Proctor (left) sharing in the special ceremony held Saturday at CUVH in Payson. (Photo by Denise Windley)

Nearly sixty-eight years after his discharge from U.S. military service in World War II, veteran Bill Murray can now wear the medals of honor he earned and waited so long to receive.

Mr. Murray, who, in September 2013, moved into the Payson Central Utah Veterans Home as its first resident, had been among many WWII veterans never to receive the medals they earned for their service in the second world war.  This was due to the high numbers of service members collectively leaving as the war drew to a close, according to local VFW Commander Ralph Lewis.

Mr. Murray’s long wait ended Saturday, December 21, 2013, “Sixty-seven years, eleven months, and one day,” to be exact, noted VFW Quartermaster Tim Proctor.  Mr. Proctor, himself a veteran, was among a small group in the community who saw to it this day would arrive.

Having worked with Mr. Murray over the short period in which he has resided at CUVH, Shelly Davis, Recreation Assistant at CUVH in Payson, has gained an appreciation for the WWII veteran.  “He’s amazing,” she said.  “He is totally an inspiration.  He is down-to-earth, big hearted.”

According to Ms. Davis, Mr. Murray had been asking about obtaining his medals soon after he arrived at CUVH in September.  Steps were soon taken to secure the medals--four in all--for the local veteran after all these years.

Volunteering as a companion and friend to Mr. Murray, Donald Kolling of Payson stepped in as the “instigator,” Mr. Proctor explained last Saturday, getting the ball rolling so that his friend could finally have the medals promised to him for his sacrifice and dedication in numerous U.S. Military campaigns during WWII.  Mr. Proctor served as the “procurer” of medals, bypassing bureaucratic red tape that would have likely further delayed their arrival, simply ordering the medals himself.

Four United States Armed Forces medals in all were soon shipped to Utah.  Arriving in the package were the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal for Mr. Murray’s performance of duty in the American Theater of Operations, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign U.S. Armed Forces Medal for his service in the European Theater of World War II.

Word got out to Mr. Murray’s family, who joined him for the long-awaited occasion in Payson on Saturday.   His son, Douglas Murray, a retired Lt. Colonel with the US Air Force, flew in for the occasion from his home in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Murray’s daughter, Susan Hedquist, and her husband Greg Hedquist, were there too, along with their family, including a grandson, Michael Wiest, who left the warm weather of Florida for snowsuits in a chilly Utah December in the days leading up to Christmas.

Both honoring and thanking Mr. Murray for his service in numerous WWII campaigns, VFW Commander Lewis and Quartermaster Proctor duly presented the four medals, pinning them upon the shirt of a beaming veteran, as his loved ones looked on.

“This is is just fantastic,” said Proctor after the medals were pinned on Mr. Murray by VFW Commander Ralph Lewis.  “As much satisfaction as I get from honoring groups and color guard detail at funerals and civic events, something personal like this- it is so thoroughly well earned.”

Article published in the December 25, 2013, edition of The Payson Chronicle. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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