Murray (b. 1919) was raised in the midwest and in Ogden, Utah. He attended Weber Junior College and Utah State University, where he studied Forestry and graduated in 1941. He recalls enlisting in the Navy and being commissioned as an ensign in 1942. He volunteered for hazardous duty and was sent to Rhode Island to the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center prior to being sent to Tulagi as a replacement in 1943. He discusses Suva, Figi, Noumea, New Caledonia, Australia, the Philippines, Guadalcanal, and China.