Sergeant Donald Lee Murphy joined the Army with his brother Harold and both were stationed in Japan when the Korean War broke out. In Dec. 1950 Sgt. Murphy disappeared when he was 20. “He was adventurous, he was the one that wanted to join and see the world,” said retired Army Colonel Donald Murphy, Sgt. Donald Lee Murphy’s nephew, who was named after him.
“It was in that area where there was a lot of fighting and the U.S. got pushed back, and so a lot of soldiers' remains were not recovered because it is now in what is North Korea,” said Sgt. Murphy's nephew.
In 2018, the North Korean government repatriated 55 boxes containing the remains of American service members lost during the Korean War. One of the boxes contained remains recovered from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, which were later confirmed to be those of Sgt. Murphy.
Sgt. Murphy's nephew found out about DPAA years ago and was able to get his dad, Harold, to give a couple of blood samples so they could get a positive DNA match to any remains recovered from Korea.
“My dad had always hoped they’d find the remains when he was alive, but he died a few years ago, so that didn’t occur, but the fact that we can now repatriate and put Don to rest in the same cemetery as my dad, that’s my focus,” said Murphy's nephew.
Sgt. Murphy's brother, CPL Harold Murphy and father, PVT Ellis Murphy who both also served in the Army, are buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma together in hallowed ground!
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