2018 Indie Book Awards

Posted on by William Murphy
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.
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National Magazine of Vietnam Veterans of America Book Review

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 mil...
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Black History Month

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 Hist...
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RADM Larry Chambers to receive Naval Academy Distinguished Award

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 ...
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Section 27: Separated at Death in Arlington

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 ...
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Honoring our Veterans

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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...
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25th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 prem...
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Roanoke Public Library

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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 a...
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Lt. Colonel Leo Roger Gray (Ret)

Posted on by Ric Murphy
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, Rog...
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