31 Oct 1950 

Unit Operations

From what I could tell from his records Dad was in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (he was wounded by mortar shell on Heartbreak Ridge (central Korea) on 12 Sep 1951 and passed away from his injuries on 17 Feb 2003). 

Awards/Badges

Purple heart (grandfather was a Medal of Honor recipient) 

Any comments or anecdotes you’d like to add

Most Memorable Moment

Dad was a musician and always dreamed of playing in the Marine Corps band. Unfortunately, he was called to war before he could live that dream. Dad did not speak of the war to us but I can imagine his being hit in the head, back and neck with shrapnel from a mortar shell was very memorable to him. He also received the Purple Heart which was very special! 

Career After USMC

After my dad left the military he went on to be a photographer /Oceanographer. He worked for the Defense Mapping Agency in both Suitland, Maryland and Brookmont, Maryland and then later for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Washington DC. He retired after 37 years of federal service.

Current Affiliations

Dad belonged to several service organizations such as DAV, Knights of Columbus, Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars etc. 

Family Information

He was married to Gladys Eileen (Moessner) Gray of Manchester England and they had 5 children (Theresa, Mike, Carl, Linda and George). He was blessed with 9 grandchildren Christie, Joe, Curtis (CJ) Jr., Kevin, Jessica, Jake, Robert, Stephanie and Steven. His only son in-law was my husband Curtis D. Morrill of Portland ME and his daughter in-laws were Susan (Marcus) Gray, Leatha (Skryzniarz) Gray and Beverly (Belcher) Gray. Dad loved his family and was very active in the coast guard reserves where he had served as a Flotilla Commander and my mother was secretary. My mother still lives in their home on the Patuxent River in Maryland where they used to patrol the waters and give boating inspections until Dad's health stopped him. 

Hobbies

Dad loved living on the water, music, boy scouts (he and my mother earned the highest awards - the Silver Beaver), he was a professional photographer and loved his children and grandchildren very much. Until his health completely disabled him, he loved to meet with his "war buddies" at McDonalds every morning to shoot the sh_t (as he put it). He was a wonderful man. We miss him very much. I know he would have loved to meet all of you.

Degrees/Schools

Rochester Institute Of Technology (RIT), Rochester NY 

Current Address

Linda (Gray) Morrill at 1143 Epson Oaks Way, Orlando, FL 32837 - Phone 407-854-8826. Email linda.morrill@navy.mil