Marder, Murrey (Second World War personal narratives), 1944 July 18 - 1944 August 20

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Summary

Title:
Murrey Marder Second World War personal narratives
Dates:
1944 July 18 - 1944 August 20
Creators:
Marder, Murrey, 1919/8/8 - 2013/3/11 and Rosa, Eva Cavileer
Abstract:
This collection contains fourty-eight carbon copies of narratives written by TSgt. Murrey Marder, USMC during the Second World War.
Containers:
box: WWII 19
folder: 10
folder: 1
Extent:
.08 Linear feet (1 folder)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item title, Box number, Folder number], Murrey Marder Second World War personal narratives (2017.698.w.r), Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains 48 carbon copies of narratives written by TSgt. Murrey Marder, USMC during the Second World War. The originals were written and sent to various news organizations and publishers. The stories consist of his time serving in Guam in the summer of 1944 during the Pacific Campaign, written in order to keep other soldiers knowledgeable about ongoing activities. His stories cover the journey from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, to Guam, Micronesia, writing news to keep people informed about the on-goings of Marines, the underground book exchange between soldiers, soldiers' reunions, the landing on and invasion of Guam, the first tank battle on Guam, fighting the Japanese in the territory surrounding Mount Alifan, finding a letter written by General Jonathan Wainwright on the body of a Japanese officer, a group of Chamorro people returning home to Guam from serving in the United States Navy, the injuries and deaths of various soldiers, major victories for the US military, discovering barrels of beer and liquor at positions held by the Japanese, surgies performed onboard ships and on the front, commendations for various exploits of soldiers, and reflecting on the occupation of Guam.

Also included is one copy of a Washington Post obituary dated March 14, 2013. The obituary is titled "Murrey Marder, McCarthy-era Washington Post reporter, dies at 93". The obituary describes Marder's career as a reporter and the influence he had reporting during the Cold War, including his reporting on the Fort Monmouth incident which led to the downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy. He was once described by journalist and historian David Halberstam as "the perfect choice for the assignment, quiet, intelligent, dogged and meticulous. There was nothing flashy about a Marder story, no one ever accused him of deft or imaginative prose, but he was above all else careful and fair.

Biographical / historical:

Technical Sergeant Murrey Marder, United States Marine Corps (8/8/1919 - 3/11/2013) was born in Philadelphia, where his father was a merchant. At 17, he began working as a copy boy at the Evening Public Ledger of Philadelphia.

Marder joined the Marine Corps and served as a combat correspondent in the South Pacific during the Second World War. He joined the Washington Post in 1946 and became known for his stories covering the "Red Beat" communist trials. In 1953, he investigated Senator Joseph McCarthy's closed-door hearings on a spy ring at the Army Signal Corps laboratories at Fort Monmouth, N.J., where 42 people were suspended without pay without knoweldge of the charges brought against them. Marder discovered that the security cases had already been investigated and dismissed by the Army. After publishing the story, he convinced Army Secretary Robert T. Stevens to admit that there was no evidence of espionage at Fort Monmouth. This article acted as a harbinger for the downfall of Senator McCarthy.

In 1957, Marder opened the Post's first foreign bureau, in London, England, and became the Post's chief diplomatic correspondent for the Post. He was also one of the reporters assigned to the Pentagon Papers, the Department of Defense's 1971 multi-volume report on the Vietnam War. He retired from the Washington Post in 1985. In 2004, he donated $1.3 million to start a public watchdog program affiliated with Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Marder died on 11 March 2013.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Eva Cavileer Rosa.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged by material type, author, and date.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Lee Feldman
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-05-17 12:10:52 -0400 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.

Preferred citation:

[Item title, Box number, Folder number], Murrey Marder Second World War personal narratives (2017.698.w.r), Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.

Contact:
(714) 532-7716
privette@chapman.edu
Website