Munro Magruder – Second Lieutenant, United States Army

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Courtesy of his classmates, United States Military Academy:

17106 Munro Magruder

Killed In action September 3, 1950, near Taegu, Korean, aged 23 Years.

On the third of September the career of one of the most promising young graduates of the Class of 1949 was cut short near Taegu, Korea. Second Lieutenant Munro Magruder, then leader of the 1st Platoon, Co. F, 8th Regiment, lst Cavalry Division, was killed in action during the last withdrawal of U.S. troops in the Pusan perimeter. Though there can be no greater glory for the soldier than to give his life on the field of battle, Munro’s death will ever be a shocking reminder to all who knew and loved him of the terrible price paid by this country in Korea.

Munro, son of Brigadier General and Mrs. John Magruder, was born in Peiking, China, on July 6, 1927. During his childhood he lived with his parents in Washington, at Fort Sill and the Virginia Military Institute, and in Switzerland, where his father was Military Attaché. Returning to Washington a second time. Munro entered St. Albans School.

At St. Albans Munro was a leader in all phases of school life. He earned varsity letters in football and basketball, and in his senior year was chosen captain of the baseball team. He was named recipient of the Thomas Hyde Medal honoring the best all around boy in his class.

Upon graduation, cum laude, from St. Albans in 1944, Munro entered the Navy and served at Jacksonville, Florida, and Norman. Oklahoma. He was discharged from the Navy to enter West Point on July 2, 1946.

His record at West Point was marked by constant above-average performance in many fields, and a tenacity of purpose in looking after the welfare of his company and the people around him. He was a member of the varsity baseball squad and spent much of his time as an organizer and  participant in the B-1 athletic program. As a cadet lieutenant in his first class year he was second in command of his company. In this capacity he displayed the leadership ability which was always so apparent to his friends.

On June 3, 1949 he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Infantry and was sent to the Ground General School at Fort Riley, Kansas. In January he went to Fort Benning, Georgia, to take the basic course at the Infantry School and on completion of this course he took airborne training to qualify as a paratrooper.

It was at Fort Banning that be met Miss Nina Garner, sister-in-law of one of Munro’s close friends, Lieutenant Sinclair Melner. He married Nina on July 29, 1950 and two weeks later he left for duty with the FEC.

After a quiet trip from Ft. Lawton, Washington to Camp Drake near Tokyo, Munro was sent immediately to Korea as a platoon leader with the 8th Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, then along the Naktong River near Taegu. Several days later his regiment moved into positions in the mountains north of Taegu. The North Koreans launched a general attack along the line on September 2. The next day, September 3, while controlling his platoon in defense of the high ground in his area, Munro was killed by enemy automatic weapons fire. Although he was with Co. F for only a short time, he displayed- 
played to a marked degree the fine qualities of leadership which his friends knew he possessed, as evidenced by the loyalty of his platoon.

One of Munro’s classmates very aptly expressed the feeling that Munro’s friends had for him when he said: “When I have a son, I would like him to be like Munro,”  He was genuine and sincere, his manners and behavior at all times were above reproach, and he lived the standards and ideals to which so many of us aspire. Even though he possessed these traits, he was ever one of the gang, and looked upon as a companion and leader in all activities in which he participated. He was indeed a gallant gentleman, beloved by all.

It is appropriate to quote here from an article honoring Munro by Dr. Alfred R. True, headmaster of the Lower School at St. Albans:

“His courtesy, warm friendliness and un assailable personal integrity made St. Albans a better school the minute he entered. His high standards were communicated without effort on his part, to all ho shared a minute, an hour, or a school year with him. The gentleness of his strength and the strength of his gentleness left a lasting expression on St. Albans. He elevated the quality of each individual fortunate enough to become his friend, and be raised to sounder, more wholesome levels the morale of  every group be joined. Each person partook something of Munro’s fineness and became a better person for having done so.  Because this is true, Munro can never be lost to St. Albans. The fine values of life which he represented and which he fostered by example, rather than by precept, are permanently bound up in the best traditions of the School.”

Munro is survived by his parents, Brigadier General and Mrs, John Magruder, and his brother, Malcomb, of 1061 Thomas Jefferson Street, Washington, D.C.; his sister, Mrs, Robert O’Brien, who is with her husband in Rumania; and his widow, Mrs. Nina Garner Magruder, of 505 University Ave., Reno Nevada.  His classmates have lost a close friend, the Army a fine officer and West Point a man who lived up to her finest standards.

D.E.B. and R.F.D.

Munro Magruder
Washington, District of Columbia – Born July 6, 1927
Second Lieutenant, US Army
Killed in Action September 3, 1950 in Korea

USMA Class of 1949, Second Lieutenant Magruder was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on September 3, 1950. Second Lieutenant Magruder was awarded the Purple Heart.

He was the son of Brigadier General John Magruder, United States Army, and is buried in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery with his parents.

Second Lieutenant Munro Magruder
Born in China July 6, 1927
Killed In Action in Korea September 4, 1950
Son of Brigadier General John Magruder

Cadet U. S. Military Academy 1945-49
Graduated as No. 17106, Class of 1949
Second Lieutenant June 3, 1949
Platoon Leader, Company F, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division 1950
Purple Heart

mmagruder
Courtesy of the American Battle Monuments Commission

john-magruder-gravesite-photo-01

MAGRUDER, MUNRO
2ND LT USA

  • DATE OF BIRTH: 07/06/1927
  • DATE OF DEATH: 09/03/1955
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 3  SITE 4021-D-1
  • ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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