On March 14, 1945, our battalion made a practice jump that resulted in disaster. As the men were parachuting from the leading C-47s, a plane at the rear of the column threw a propeller. The disabled plane dove thro-ugh, the jumpers into the ground and exploded, the four-man crew died.

Seven parachutists from Hq & HQ Company were killed, some men were draped over the wings of the plane when it exploded. Additionally, Pvt. C. L. Clemons, Hq1, was killed when his parachute failed to open.

Shortly thereafter, the 508^th PIR was alerted to parachute into German prisoner-of-war camps, to liberate allied prisoners. We quickly packed our gear and boarded the 40&8s and rode to airfields near Chartres, south-west of Paris. After several false starts and canceled missions, the Germans surrendered. The war in Europe was over.  

The 508^th PIR returned to Sissonne and prepared to move into Germany as part of the Occupation force.  We were ordered to Frankfurt, Germany and assigned to General Eisenhower's headquarters as his security force and honor guard for visiting dignitaries. Hq1 men were billeted in apartments in Heddernheim, a suburb of Frankfurt. 

In December 1945, based upon a ‘point system,’ I left Hq1 and was assigned to the First  Battalion 504^th  Parachute Infantry Regiment for transportation to the United States.

We arrived in New York in early January, and on January 12, 1946, I marched down 5th Avenue with the 82^nd Airborne Division to celebrate V-E Day.

A few days later I was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia and discharged on January 17, 1946.”

Grady Murray earned:

·        Bronze Star Medal

·        Combat Infantry Badge

·        Parachute Qualification badge with a star for a combat jump (Holland)

·        Orange Lanyard of the Royal Netherlands Army

·        Belgium Fourragere

·       Numerous defense medals including the European Theater of Operations (ETO) Medal with Invasion Arrowhead and three battle stars

·        European Victory Medal

·        Occupation Medal with Germany Bar.