2018 Indie Book Awards

Ric Murphy’s award winning book, Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN: First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier, was honored by the 2018 Indie Book Awards Committee as the FINALIST in the category for African America History, at the Awards Ceremony at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans on June 22, 2018. For authors and publishers the Indie Book Awards is the largest nonprofit organization known as ‘Sundance’ of of the book publishing world.

2018 Readers’ Favorite

Ric Murphy’s award winning book, Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN: First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier received a FIVE STAR Review from Mamta Madhavan for Readers’ Favorite.

National Magazine of Vietnam Veterans of America Book Review

The National Magazine of Vietnam Veterans of America, The V VA Veteran, posted an online review of Ric Murphy’s new book: Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN: First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier.

According to the National Magazine of Vietnam Veterans of America, the book, Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN presents the powerful story of Larry Chambers’ climb to the top, as well as the sociopolitical and global and military history surrounding his life. Whether you’re into military, global, or social history—or you just enjoy a very good read—I highly recommend Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN be placed high on your reading bucket list.” Read More

Bob Wartman,
National Magazine of Vietnam Veterans of America

Black History Month

February is Black History Month, an opportunity to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Americans of African descent have made worldwide. Black History Month is also a time of reflection of the many challenges that confronted America’s enslaved people and their perseverance over a 400 year period.

I had an opportunity to reflect with many new friends and organizations during the month, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and its staff. Where we celebrated Black History Month by commemorating Blacks in the U.S. Military, where I presented a topic on the Military and Civilian Conditions During the Civil War.

While each month should be Black History Month, during the month in 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery; in 1870, the 15th Amendment was adopted granting black men the right to vote; and in 1909, the NAACP was founded.

Lets Lift Every Voice and celebrate our Black History

RADM Larry Chambers to receive Naval Academy Distinguished Award

Washington, D.C. native, retired Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, is to be honored by the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation on March 23, 2018.

Chambers (Class of 1952) whose biography was recently published, is to receive the Distinguished Graduate Award, in honor of U.S. Naval Academy graduates who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to service, personal character and distinguished contributions to our nation. According to his biographer Ric Murphy, Chambers was the first American of African descent in command of a Navy combat ship; the first to command an aircraft carrier; and was among the first to attend and graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.

On April 29, 1975, during the Fall of Saigon, as commanding officer of the USS Midway, Chambers helped rescue thousands of American and South Vietnamese citizens, and foreign nationals in the mission known as Operation Frequent Wind. Over a two-day period, as the North Vietnamese military entered the city during the final days of the Vietnam War, the operation became the largest helicopter evacuation in history, where evacuees were airlifted to the USS Midway and other aircraft carriers waiting at sea. As a direct result of his military skill and leadership, Chambers famously ordered several UH-1 helicopters pushed overboard to make room for an escaping South Vietnamese Air Force pilot, Major Bung Ly, saving his life and that of his family. For more information.

Section 27: Separated at Death in Arlington

Uncover the history of Arlington National Cemetery’s historic Section 27 and what it tells us about race and healthcare during the 19th century. On February 15th at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, Ric Murphy and Tim Stephens explored the history of slavery and the effects of mid-1800s healthcare in Washington DC, and its effects on America’s most famous cemetery. The presentation focused on the medical care provided to African American civilians on the former plantation of Robert E. Lee and their changing social status during and after the Civil War.

The presentation covered many of the themes in their upcoming book: Section Twenty-Seven: The Forgotten History of Arlington National Cemetery.

Honoring our Veterans

Patriotic African American Revolutionary War Soldiers

Veterans Day is an opportunity each year to reflect on the freedoms we cherish and the men and women whose service has made them possible.

This is a day that we honor military veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marie Corps and the Coast Guard), and it gives us an opportunity to thank them (and their families) for their service and their sacrifices.

And, if you are descended from a veteran of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War and/or the Vietnam War please make sure that you share with a young person the historic context of each of those wars with the challenges we face world wide today

25th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine

Ric Murphy the author of the upcoming book, Section 27: The Forgotten History of Arlington National Cemetery, spoke at the 25th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Sponsored by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, each year the conference brings together scholars, practitioners, and amateur historians from across the globe to discuss the history of Civil War medicine and its enduring impact today.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is the premier center for the preservation and research of the legacy of Civil War Medical innovation and humanitarianism. It serves as a living institution, utilizing artifacts, storytelling and the historic lessons derived from that era to educate the public and define the impact on today’s society. For additional information.

Roanoke Public Library

Roanoke, Virginia. The Roanoke Public Library System invited me to speak at its historic Gainesville Branch Library. What a wonderful and inviting audience. Roanoke was first called Big Lick Township, because of the huge salt deposit runoff from the Blue Ridge Mountains which attracted wildlife to lick the salt at the Roanoke River, and because of its mountain valley location served as the gateway for wagon trains going west. During the mid-nineteenth century, the township was renamed Roanoke and it became the hub for the new railroad lines taking passengers further west and aided in the development of the “wild-wild west.”

Lt. Colonel Leo Roger Gray (Ret)

During World War II, the night sky was dotted with 350 bright stars who flew over European and North African skies in protecting American military planes, known as the brave Tuskegee Red Tail Pilots.

This evening, the sky is that much dimmer, with the passing of one of the few Red Tail pilots left, Lt. Colonel Leo Roger Gray, whose life story was featured in the book Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War.

We offer sincere condolences to Leo’s family-Lynette, Roger and Kathy, and his beautiful and devoted wife, Dianne.

Leo had a very big heart, and his love extended well beyond his family, but to the thousands of young children he would meet each year, where he would love to share in classrooms all across the country the brave and heroic tales of the Red Tail Pilots.

I’m sure as they did during World War II, planes all across the country this evening will tip their wings just a bit, in honor of Lt. Colonel Leo Gray and all of the brave men with whom he loved and served with, the brave and heroic RED TAIL PILOTS.