Veteran Profile: Faith Connor Murray

Faith Connor Murray

Ellison Bay

Navy Nurse Corps Reserves, 1964-1967

Faith Murray received her undergraduate nursing degree at Villanova University, outside Philadelphia, Penn. Her first assignment after Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, was at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland.

This brought chuckles from her family since the motto of the Navy at the time was “Join the Navy and See the World!” and since Faith was born and raised in Pennsylvania, she was only 2½ hours from there while stationed at NNMC.

Her “claim to fame” while at Bethesda Naval Hospital occurred when her chief hospital corpsman brought Faith a urine sample to measure from Pres. Lyndon Johnson, who was a surgery patient at the time.

While in college, Faith met her future husband, Bob, who lived in Philadelphia. Bob and Faith were married at the Navy Chapel in Washington D.C. in 1966. For three months they commuted back and forth between Pennsylvania and Maryland until Faith received a transfer of duty to the Philadelphia Naval Hospital (PNH).

Faith was assigned to the Navy’s East Coast Amputee Center at PNH. This center consisted of four 40-bed wards of rehab/physical therapy patients awaiting discharge, to acute care amputees arriving from the field of duty in Vietnam.

Faith was charge nurse in the acute care unit and oversaw care of approximately 110 Vietnam amputees during her tour of duty at Philadelphia Naval Hospital. The saddest part of her time caring for Vietnam amputees, who were mostly U.S. Marines, was the rejection they often received, not only from family and friends because of their injuries, but also from our countrymen when they returned to the States. “It was a disgrace to see and hear the disdain and ill treatment that many of our brave Vietnam veterans received when they came home!” Faith said.

“Thank God these veterans now are receiving their long due respect. In fact, Governor Scott Walker is honoring Vietnam Veterans with a special Welcome Home Veterans’ Day Ceremony at 11 am on Nov. 11, 2015, at the State Capitol in Madison.

“We retired to the wonderful hamlet of Ellison Bay from Southern California, where we raised our three children,” Faith said. “After earning a Masters degree in counseling in California, I was blessed to be able to minister help to Vietnam vets with PTSD, which was especially rewarding. I am grateful that the sentiment has changed toward these wonderful veterans and am proud to be among their ranks.”

Faith Murray is secretary of the Liberty Grove Historical Society that is embarking on a historic project to honor military veterans and active duty personnel by installing a Military Honor Circle at the LGHS site. Funds are needed to install this Honor Circle and anyone wishing to support the project can contact Faith at [email protected] or by calling 920.421.1754.