Just a Kid from Hell's Kitchen - In Remembrance of TC Murray

SEMPER FIDELIS
“Semper Fidelis” – “Always Faithful”, is the motto of the U. S. Marine Corps. It was a
hot summer July 7 day in 1943. As I was playing on West 57 th Street, I heard the strains
of the “Marine’s Hymn” blaring forth from the amplifiers atop a Marine Corps
recruitment station wagon. The auto was parked directly across the street from the Henry
Hudson Hotel. “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli…” The music was
magnetic and I had to get closer. Carefully I crossed the heavily trafficked two-way, busy
Manhattan street. I had reached Nirvana and experienced my first “high”. It was great!
After the station wagon pulled away, I went to cross the street. Perhaps the high was too
much, but in the process of crossing I was struck by a car and blacked out. I awoke in
Roosevelt Hospital, a block away from my house. Fortunately, my mother was home at
the time and was alerted to my misfortune by, Charlie, an Italian-born taxi driver. Charlie
was parked at the Henry Hudson Hotel’s hack stand and I had known him for a while. He
often allowed me to ride on the running board of his cab as it moved up the hack queue.
To a young kid of ten that was quite a thrill. Upon hearing the news from Charlie, mom
was understandably upset and preceded to the hospital. I had suffered a mild concussion
of the brain and still have my forehead bump as a scar of war. I had a hospital stay of
only three days and was visited by “Uncle” Tom. He gave me a toy piano that I cherished
and banged away to my heart’s content. 1, 2, 3, 4, I love the Marine Corps. “Semper Fi!”
SEMPER PARATUS
“Always prepared” had to be the watchwords of both the military and civilian population
if we were to survive the war. While we did not suffer the devastating effects of the
blitzkrieg as England had endured, nonetheless, we realized that “the price of liberty is
eternal vigilance”. A number of measures were taken to prepare us for such an
eventuality. The FBI thwarted espionage activities. The Coast Guard patrolled our shores
as u-boats lurked in nearby Atlantic waters. Civilian volunteers were trained as spotters.
Sabotage remained a constant threat.