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Remember...Murry Neil Fowler
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Murry Neil Fowler was born on October 5, 1930, in Florence, South Carolina, the son of John Henry and Hattie Falk Fowler. Murry had a sister and brother. The family moved to Mullens, West Virginia, in 1937 where he attended Mullens High School. While a student, he lettered twice on the varsity football team in the position of fullback. Murry graduated with the class of 1949 after which he was employed as a yard brakeman with the Virginian Railroad at Ellmore.
On January 9, 1951, Murry married Betty June Andrews in Mullens. A month earlier, on December 4, 1950, he had enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves and been sent went to Parris Island, South Carolina. After his marriage, he returned to duty at Parris Island on January 22 and later transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, for advanced training.
On April 19, 1951, Murry Fowler was sent to Korea. On June 6, 1951, then Pfc. Murry Fowler was killed in action at Ch'ang-ni, Korea. Sgt. Emil Campo, who served with Murry and was in action with him on that day, wrote a letter to his parents giving the details of his death. He and Murry were members of an artillery spotting team. On June 6, they and seven other men were spotting artillery fire for the 11th Co., 3rd Battalion, Korean Marine Corps, their location being 15 miles above the 38th parallel. They had been attempting to take a hill in the area but machine gun fire had prevented them from moving forward. At about 5:30 P.M. on June 6, they were bombarded by enemy mortar fire. Two white phosphorus shells landed on either side of them, and a third almost landed in the middle of the group. This shell caused five casualties in the group, but the only one killed was Pfc. Murry Fowler. Sgt. Campo wrote that he was within a few feet of him when Murry was hit in the back, dying instantly.
| Pfc. Murry Neil Fowler was interred at Resthaven Memorial Park in Princeton, West Virginia. He was just under 20 years old when he met his untimely death. |  |
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
