In his memory:
Murray O. Smith CW02 (USN Ret.)
(photo taken when he was a Senior Chief Petty Officer)
VFP-62 service: 1962-65
Updated: January 19, 2024
[Webmaster's Note: This page is under construction and will be updated as tributes from family, friends, and former Navy members are received. Contact Webmaster on the link below.]
Memories and Tributes
Obituary
Murray O. Smith, 87, of the 3900 block of Wyckoff Drive, died October 25, 2003, after a long illness, surrounded by friends and loved ones.
Murray was predeceased by his parents, Ernest Marvin and Ola Darty Smith of Halls, Tennessee. He is survived by his loving wife, Jean Smith; his son and daughter by his first marriage, Philip Murray Smith of Richmond, VA, and Patricia Smith Crump of Moyock, NC; grandsons, James Linwood "Jake" Crump III and Zachary Patrick Crump; and son-in-law, James Linwood Crump, Jr. of Moyock, NC; stepdaughter, Cheryl McKee of Mississippi; stepson, Richard J. McKee of California; sister, Maxine Smith Cochran; brother, Donald Ralph Smith; and sister-in-law, Mary Smith, all of Hot Springs, AR; and nieces and nephews. He was the widower of 42 years of marriage to Bertha Mae Joslin Smith, 1918-1981, of Dyersburg, TN. Their first child, Pamela Opal Smith, died at age eight in 1959.
Murray was born and raised in rural west Tennessee, north of Memphis, one of seven children. He enjoyed playing team sports for much of his life. Although the lightest weight player on his 1935 Halls High School football team, his athletic ability was such that he played end and co-captained it to a winning season. His best sport was always baseball. He also grew up hunting, and continued to enjoy recreational quail hunting with dogs into his fifties.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1937 to begin a 30-plus year career of distinguished service to his country, rising through the enlisted ranks to Chief Warrant Officer. He served on several ships including the U.S.S. Arkansas, and then served in World War II in such duty stations as Taboga Island, Panama Canal Zone helping outfit PT boats in 1942, and in New Guinea 1943-1944 supplying naval forces in the Pacific Theatre. In New Guinea, despite his physical fitness, he contracted malaria from the jungle environment and recovered stateside. After the war he continued his naval service; he was present on deck of the U.S.S. Ajax to witness the Bikini Island Atomic Bomb test. His duty stations included Guam in the late 1940's and Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada, in the early 1950's. He served at a number of naval bases and naval air stations on American soil and was a member of Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62), stationed at NAS Cecil Field Jacksonville, FL when it performed airborne reconnaissance of Cuba and its waters during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Throughout much of his Navy career he continued to play baseball and later softball in Navy recreational leagues and other leagues, sometimes as pitcher or shortstop. Most often he played third base, where his quickness, reliability, and strong, accurate throwing arm were most in demand and made him a cornerstone on multiple ship, Navy base, or other league championship teams.
In 1968 Murray mustered out of the Navy, admired and respected by his subordinates, peers, and military seniors alike for his professionalism and exemplary behavior. He then continued to work for years to come, for civilian employers including Overseas National Airways, Eastern Electric Wire and Cable Company, and in federal civil service. A devout Christian, Murray was a regular attending member of Thalia United Methodist Church since 1969, ushering for a number of years. Prior to moving to Virginia Beach he was a member of First United Methodist Church of Norfolk. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and Scottish Rite member of Khedive Temple Drum and Bugle Corps.
Murray was a reliable, tolerant, good-natured, religious, dedicated family man for his entire adult life. He was a good man who simply "did" for his family, and had neither excessive personal ego nor personal vices that might create any impositions on others - family, friends, church, or community. He was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.
Note from webmaster: The navy rate/rank, Store Keeper (AK), which Warrant Officer Smith had, is one of the many service departments that provide critical functions but rarely get credit for their support to keep the aircraft in the air. This was never more important than during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the commanding officer had a shortage of RF-8A photo-Crusaders to execute photo-reconnaissance missions over Cuba.
Getting spare parts is often a frustration under normal times and, during the crisis, the jets were flown back to NAS Cecil Field to get necessary repairs over night and be ready for the next day's missions. In the words of the Mainenance Officer, "The Cuban Missisle Crisis was not a crisis for VFP-62 because we could do whatever was asked of us." VFP-62 never missed a mission due to a "downed" aircraft
Chief Smith ( First from right Row 4)
Murray & wife Bertha Mae; Circa 1938
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Updated 3/9/18
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