Oral History Interview with John Ley, February 9, 2015 Page: 10

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Ley. Ley was born in Joliet, Illinois in 1925. When he completed boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, he then trained as a radio operator. In April 1943 he completed his training and was assigned to the USS Murphy (DD-603). In March 1944 they took on provisions and sailed to Londonderry, England. On 5 June 1944 the ship put to sea to lay a smoke screen during the Normandy landings. On D-Day, the ship was stationed off Omaha Beach and Ley saw masses of dead and wounded. He also saw the Army Rangers assaulting the cliffs of Point du Hoc, France. Ten days after the Normandy invasion, the Murphy returned to England for resupply. On 26 June they accompanied the USS Texas (BB-35) and participated in the bombardment of Cherbourg. Returning to England the ship took on a cargo of artillery shells affixed with a proximity fuse for delivery to Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria where Allied forces were gathering in preparation for Operation Dragoon. Ley describes picking up three German Luftwaffe personnel at sea. In 1945, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia came aboard to meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Malta. He recalls the livestock and special cooking utensils brought aboard for benefit of the king. Following the surrender of Japan, the Murphy was sent to Nagasaki. Ley saw the destruction and numerous urns stacked on the docks that had dog tags affixed identifying American prisoner of war casualties. The ship returned to the United States in November 1945. Ley was discharged in 1946 and then attended college. He joined the US Air Force, became an officer and retired in 1968.