George G. McMurtry
George McMurtry
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Captain George G. McMurtry
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Born | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
November 6, 1876
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ |
United States Army |
Years of service | 1898, 1917–1919 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | 2nd Battalion, 308th Infantry, 77th Division |
Battles/wars | Spanish–American War World War I |
Awards | Medal of Honor |
Other work | Lawyer |
George Gibson McMurtry (November 6, 1876 – November 22, 1958) was an officer in United States Army who received the Medal of Honor as the executive officer of the Lost Battalion during World War I.
Contents
Biography
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1876, McMurtry was described as a big, burly, Scotch-Irish American with a ruddy face who seemed to always be of good cheer. He attended law school at Harvard graduate prior to the Spanish–American War.
At the start of the Spanish–American War, at the age of 22, McMurtry left Harvard to serve as a member of Theodore Roosevelt's 1st US Volunteer Cavalary, known as the Rough Riders. He was a member of Troop D commanded by Captain Robert B. Huston. D Troop was part of the cavalry squadron commanded by Alexander Brodie.[1] As part of D Troop, McMurtry participated in the Battle of Las Guasimas on Friday 24 June 1898 and in the Battle of San Juan Hill on 1 July 1898.[2]
When the Rough Riders were disbanded, McMurtry stayed in the Army as a young enlisted man and decided to become a career soldier who worked his way up through the ranks. He obtained a commission when the Army established its first Officer Candidate Schools in May 1917. By the time World War I started, he was one of the most experienced officers of the newly formed 308th Infantry Regiment who easily acquiesced to the orders of those above him despite his greater degree of military experience.[3]
After the War, McMurtry returned to Harvard College, graduating in 1899. Like Charles Whittlesey, he was also a Wall Street lawyer. He would later make millions of dollars in the stock market after the war.[2]
In popular culture
In the 2001 made for TV movie The Lost Battalion, McMurtry was portrayed by Phil McKee.[4][5][6]
See also
- Charles White Whittlesey
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
- The Lost Battalion
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Medal of Honor Recipients on Film
- ↑ Beyond Hollywood.com Review. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ The Lost Battalion (2001) on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
Further reading
- Johnson, Thomas M., and Fletcher Pratt. The Lost Battalion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8032-7613-3
- Miles, L. Wardlaw. History of the 308th Infantry, 1917–1919. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1927. OCLC 5142462
External links
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