{{Infobox military person |name=James L. Murray |birth_date= {{birth date|1919|01|04}} |death_date= {{death date and age|2004|05|09|1919|05|09}} |burial_place=Arlington National Cemetery |burial_label= Place of burial |image=MajorGeneralJamesLoreMurray.JPG |caption=Major General James L. Murray |nickname= |birth_place=Newton, North Carolina |death_place=Point Clear, Alabama |allegiance={{flag|United States of America}} |branch={{air force|United States}} |service_years=1940–1975 |rank=20px Major General |awards=Air Force Distinguished Service Medal |relations= |other_work= }} Major General '''James L. Murray''' (January 4, 1919 – May 9, 2004) was a United States Air Force officer and Engineering Project Manager for the XB-52 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
==Biography== In 1939, Murray graduated from the North Carolina State College with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He took a position at NACA working with wind tunnels at Langley Field.
In 1940, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a flying cadet, and subsequently received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1941. During the war, he was a flight instructor for the B-17, B-24, and B-29 at Gunter Field. Notable among his students were members of the Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group (99th Pursuit Group) and the aviation author Ernest K. Gann, who referred to him as "a most skillful young Army pilot."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gann |first=Ernest Kellogg |title=Fate is the Hunter |date=1986 |isbn=0-671-63603-0 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |page=213 |oclc=14411658}}</ref>
After the war, he worked as a NACA pilot at Moffett Field testing thermal deicing systems. left|thumb|NACA C-46A testing de-icing systems. His career in the Air Force included being the Chief of Special Projects at Wright Field where the ejection seat used in jet aircraft was introduced, and a project manager during the nascent XB-52 program.
In 1954, Murray resigned his active commission as Colonel, but remained in the reserve until 1975 when he retired as a Major General. He was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal at Bolling AFB.
From 1971-1975, he was chairman of the Air Force Reserve Forces Policy Committee under the Secretary of the Air Force.
For 30 years, he held several executive positions in the aerospace industry at Garrett Corporation, Republic Aviation, Aero Commander, Vice President of the C-5 division at Douglas Aircraft Company. In 1969 he became President of Teledyne/CAE and served in local roles including the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and as chairman of the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce.<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Force major general was Teledyne executive |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2004/05/18/Air-Force-major-general-was-Teledyne-executive.html |website=The Blade |access-date=26 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=James Murray Obituary (2004) - Mobile, AL - The Mobile Metropolitan Area |url=https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/mobile/name/james-murray-obituary?id=14549943 |website=Legacy.com |access-date=26 March 2023}}</ref>
Murray was a member of Conquistadores del Cielo, The Burning Tree Club and a trustee of the USAF Falcon Foundation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/james-murray-obituary?id=27306146 | title=James Murray Obituary (2004) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times | website=Legacy.com }}</ref>
==Death== thumb|right|Grave at Arlington National Cemetery
Following prolonged illness which included lung cancer, Murray died on May 9, 2004, at the age of 85 of congestive heart failure at his home in Point Clear, Alabama. He was survived by his wife Phyllis Jennings Murray; daughters Lucy Howell, Marilyn Van Dyke, Margaret Harcourt, and sons James L. Murray, Jr., Mark Murray, Kenneth Murray, Bret Murray, and nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Murray was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZtdXJyYXkSBWphbWVzGgFs/ Burial Detail: Murray, James L (Section 54, Grave 3976)] – ANC Explorer</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=108-s20041117-14 Congressional Record Tribute]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} by Senator Jeff Sessions * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081001200007/http://www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil/B52/B-52%20Book.pdf Development of the B-52 The Wright Field Story Lori S. Tagg] * [http://lccn.loc.gov/98073683 Life without a compass: with revealing comments about the decline of the Douglas Aircraft Company / James L. Murray] * [http://naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/1947/naca-tn-1424.pdf NACA Technical Note 1424 Appreciation Major Murray] <!-- * {{FAG|49262966}} no Wikidata & webpage does not have grave photo--> {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, James Lore}} Category:United States Air Force generals Category:Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Category:1919 births Category:2004 deaths Category:American test pilots Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Category:People from Newton, North Carolina Category:Military personnel from North Carolina