DOB/DOD: May 3, 1921 (West Haven, CT) – December 3, 1943; 22 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: New Haven
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-258080
FAMILY: Born to Abraham (1894-1960) and Celia Flom Blum (1895-1959). Four brothers, Simon (1918-1962), Herman [Army veteran 1945-1946 and 1958-1965] (1918-2000), Monte M. [Army veteran, 1943-1946] (1925-2005), and Calvin [Air Force Veteran] (1927-2020).
James Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY; Class of 1939
CIRCUMSTANCES: Lost at sea when his ship he was serving on, the SS Leonidas Polk, collided with a Dutch vessel in the Irish Sea. According to the ship’s log, Blum leaped overboard and was trying to rescue other sailors when he drowned. Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The Dutch ship Princess Irene that was sunk in this incident
In ballast en route from Pailey (Glasgow) to Garston (Liverpool) in the Irish Sea sunk 10 miles west of Mull or Galloway due to a collision with the American SS Leonidas Polk. The 10 crew members, including Captain Buining, were killed. Only a passenger and a British gunner can be rescued. The dead crew: J. Schut, sailor, J. Buining, Captain, W.H.J. Propstra, cook, P. Buining, mate, W. Pethenick, sailor, S.J. Dogger, 2nd driver, M. Oosterhof, sailor, 1st operator was Korthuis who drove around on his life jacket after 1.30 am rescued by a sloop of the Leonidas Polk. Also, the English gunner Ch. Brickel was later picked up.
From The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD) on January 31, 1944
By Henrietta Leith
Captain John Reynolds paused and put his hand over his eyes for a moment. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said. “This has hit me pretty hard.”’
The veteran Baltimore sea captain was not talking about his 14 hours on a ‘‘dead” ship, or of the arthritis which had crippled him after the long exposure. Nor was he referring to a convoy collision which damaged his ship and sank another.
Talks Of Aide’s Death
He was trying to describe the heroic death of his radio operator, 22-year-old Murray M. Blum, of Brooklyn, New York., who gave his life in a futile effort to save a drowning man.
It happened during the captain’s latest trip, while he was in command of the Liberty ship Leonidas Polk on a North Atlantic trip. Traveling in close convoy formation, the Polk collided with another vessel, which sank within three minutes.
“It was a pitch black night,” recalled Captain Reynolds, “And a rather boisterous sea. The other ship had just gone down and some of her men were floating in the water and
drifting past me.
Hears Cry For Help
“Two men had passed my ship close aboard, but too far away for our lines to reach them. One man, out of sight, was crying out quite loudly that he could not swim.
While my lifeboats were being launched my radio operator, who was very athletic, went overboard. He passed the two men near the ship, who were apparently temporarily secure on wreckage. When last seen he was swimming strongly toward the voice in the darkness that was asking for help.”
Decides To Quit Convoy
During the next two hours the lifeboats from Captain Reynolds’ ship searched the area and picked up two survivors. At daybreak the search was resumed, with the help of other vessels from a nearby port. Finally, Captain Reynolds decided to abandon the convoy and return to the port.
“We remained there another week, during which time the search for my radio operator and any other survivors was vigorously prosecuted, but to no avail,” he said. “I can only presume that he was lost.”
Fine Physical Specimen
The captain recalled how the young operator, who “stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 210 pounds without an ounce of fat,” was continually exercising with bar bells “that I couldn’t even lift off the deck.”
His ambition was to resume the college career which had been interrupted by the war, and it was this which caused the close friendship between the youth and his skipper. “I had many long talks with him and helped him shape up his plans for the future,” said Captain Reynolds. “He had become almost like a son to me.”
Recommends Recognition
Since his return the captain has notified the proper authorities in Washington of the radio operator’s heroism, and asked that special recognition be made to his family.
The captain, whose son, Lieutenant John L. Reynolds, Jr., is in the South Pacific, is a native of Pennsylvania, but moved to Baltimore in 1930, designing and building the family home at 315 North Bend Road
“Weather Man Of Sea”
He served in the navy before and during the last war, and later became known as the ‘‘weather man of the sea’ because of the weather maps he brought back from each voyage. In 1931 he was given a medal by the French Government for supplying weather information which aided the flyers, Coste and Bellonte, in their transoceanic flight.
He received letters of commendation from the British Admiralty for the 1939 rescue of survivors from the torpedoed aircraft carrier Courageous.
Last February, while he was in command of the Wade Hampton, that Liberty ship was struck by two German torpedoes, remaining afloat 14 hours, although “‘the whole stern was blown off up to the mizzenmast.”’
Eight Of Crew Lost
Eight of the crew were lost when a lifeboat capsized, but others were picked up by a British corvette during the night. The boatswain, on a raft with another survivor, died from exposure just as rescue was in sight. The captain and chief engineer remained with the ship until just before she sank, and Captain Reynolds still suffers from arthritis because of the long vigil.
Himself determined to “get in on this next invasion,’’ Captain Reynolds paid tribute to the men who have served under him during the war.
“We have our troubles today with inefficient personnel,” he admitted, ‘‘but most of the boys I take to sea with me make up for their inexperience with a beautiful enthusiasm for the work they are trying to do.”
A Liberty shop built in Brunswick, Georgia, was named for him. It was launched on October 25, 1944, joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 1952, and was sold for scrap in 1971.
From the Brooklyn Eagle on October 12, 1944
NEW SHIP TO CARRY ON FOR BORO HERO OF THE SEA
The heroic spirit of Lt. Murray M. Blum, young Brooklyn merchant seaman who had four ships shot from under him and remained unscathed—then died to save the victims of another torpedoed ship, will sail the seas again. On October 24 the SS Murray M. Blum, named in his
honor, will ride down the ways of the J. A Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia. The 22-year-old veteran of three years in the maritime service has been awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for bravery posthumously.
When, due to a collision between his and another ship, the other ship went down, Blum dived into the sea. to save those crying for help. He succeeded in rescuing a number of persons at the cost of his own life.
A graduate of Madison High School, Blum was attending Brooklyn College when he decided he would be more valuable in the merchant marine than in a classroom. He enlisted early in 1941.
He was reported missing at first but his body was later recovered and buried in National Cemetery in Montreyer, Scotland.
His mother, Mrs. Sylvia Blum of 1642 E. 19th St., is happy to here that a ship is being named for him, because he always loved the sea “and now he will still be sailing even if it’s only in spirit.”
From The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle on July 14, 1944
President Praises Heroism of Merchant Marine Officer
New York — (JPS) — Lieutenant Murray Morris Blum, 23, USMS, of Brooklyn, New York has been posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his attempt to rescue a drowning survivor in the North Atlantic, an attempt that cost him his life, it was revealed here by the National Jewish Welfare Board. Fewer than twenty of these medals have been awarded altogether during this war.
In the middle of a freezing night last December, Blum’s ship, the SS Leonidas Polk, was steaming in blacked-out convoy through icy North Atlantic waters when it collided with another ship, which sank almost immediately. Blum, Chief Radio Operator of the Polk, heard the cries of a drowning survivor beyond the range of buoy lines. He dived overside and was last seen swimming away from his ship in search of the distressed man.
Said the Presidential citation accompanying the award: “That he was unsuccessful in his mission does not detract from the glory of his effort. His heroism was further sanctified when, in his attempt to rescue the drowning man, he gave his own life. His utter disregard of the odds against his own survival was a heroic manifestation of the spirit which so inalienably characterizes the men of the United States Merchant Marine.”
Blum had made nine convoy trips and had four ships sunk under him during three and a half years in the maritime service.
From The New York Daily News on November 14, 1958
By Jesse Brodey
Kin of Hero Will Attend Dedication
“The parents of World War II Merchant Marine hero Murray Morris Blum, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Blum of 1642 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn, will fly with Vice President Nixon to join Queen Elizabeth II in dedicating the American Memorial Chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, November 26.
The chapel is to be dedicated “to the glory of God and in memory of the Americans who gave their lives in military operations from the British Isles.”
Blum was Chief Radio Operator aboard the Liberty ship Leonidas Polk when his ship, steaming in blacked-out convoy, collided with another which sank almost immediately.
Pulled Out 4 Men
Blum pulled four men out of the water and in an attempt to rescue two others in the rough, wreckage-strewn sea, was lost. He was last seen swimming away from his ship in search of the distressed men. His body was found on the Irish coast several days later.
The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal was awarded posthumously to him. Another Liberty ship, like the Polk, launched at Brunswick, Georgia, in October 1944, was named the Murray M. Blum. It served throughout the remainder of the war and still bears his name in the U. S. Reserve Fleet at Mobile, Alabama.
Blum’s name was chosen from those on an American roll of honor presented to St. Paul’s
Cathedral on July 4, 1951, by General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Ceremony of 3 Faiths
The dedication will be a ceremony of three faiths with American war heroes’ next of kin representing the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths. Blum’s parents, who will represent the Jewish faith, have also been designated by the Maritime Administration as the Merchant Marine representatives.
The Blums’ role in the dedication was disclosed simultaneously yesterday by Maritime Administrator Clarence G. Morse, and by City Council President Abe Stark, to whom the war hero’s father is technical adviser.
From The Baltimore Sun on May 21, 2014
By Alan Feiler
On a wall calendar in their Lutherville kitchen, the Blum family keeps various appointments and relatives’ birthdays jotted down in fairly small, neatly written Magic Marker script. But for the week of May 25 to 29, the words “London,” “Cambridge” and “Paris” are written in large letters.
This particular calendar notation is not for an ordinary hop across the pond, but the journey of a lifetime for Murray Blum, an attorney and 1972 graduate of Milford Mill High School. On this trip to England and France with his 12-year-old son, Jordan, Blum will once again come face-to-face with the life and legacy of his namesake, Lt. Murray Morris Blum, an uncle he never met who died during World War II trying in vain to save another man’s life.
“In a way, I feel like I knew him,” Blum said of his uncle. “If I ever needed some help, I would always reach out to him for advice, in a mystical way. I know it sounds corny, but it’s something I did.
“I grew up hearing stories about Murray all the time, how good he was and the relationships he had. He was just a great person who would always help people. I’ve always been proud to be named after someone like him.”
Murray and Jordan Blum will attend the May 26 dedication ceremony of the Visitor Center at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial near Cambridge, England. The cemetery, which is run by the American Battle Monuments Commission, is the final resting place of 3,812 American servicemen who died during the war, including Lt. Blum, who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine.
The cemetery compound includes a Wall of the Missing with the names of 5,127 servicemen, most of whom were lost during the Battle of the Atlantic or the bombardment of northwest Europe. Among the better-known names on the wall is Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., elder brother of President John F. Kennedy.
The new Visitor Center will feature a permanent audio-visual exhibition titled “Profiles of Sacrifice,” which tells the stories of Lt. Blum and 13 other U.S. military personnel who gave their lives during the war. The ABMC has also produced a “Next of Kin” video for the exhibition that features Murray Blum, his sister, Robin Blum, and their uncle, Calvin Blum, talking about Lt. Blum’s legacy. The Blums donated Lieutenant Blum’s diary, medals, and other artifacts and information to the exhibition.
“The Blum family was just so willing to share,” said Timothy Nosal, the ABMC’s acting public affairs director. “They are truly touched and honored that their relative will be featured at the Visitor Center. It just resonated with them, and Lieutenant Blum’s story simply stood out for us.”
A selfless act
A 22-year-old native of New Haven, Conn., who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Lt. Blum was the chief radio operator on the SS Leonidas S. Polk on the evening of Dec. 3, 1943, when the ship collided with a smaller European sea vessel miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Atlantic. While the Leonidas Polk did not sustain significant damage, the other boat sank quickly, and many of its crew jumped into the frigid, choppy waters.
As rescue boats were dispatched and the crew of the Leonidas Polk watched from the deck, one man in the ocean cried desperately for help, shouting that he did not know how to swim. The rescue boats were going in the opposite direction. A strong swimmer, Lt. Blum immediately removed his shoes, yelled, “Radio Operator Lt. Murray Blum going overboard,” dove into the water, and searched for the man drowning beyond the range of the buoy line.
The selfless act was completely in keeping with Lt. Blum’s character, according to his brother, Calvin.
“No one else would jump in but Murray,” Calvin Blum said. “Murray would always do everything in his power to help someone. It was an automatic impulse.”
Rescue boats never found Lt. Blum or the man he intended to save. Three weeks later, Lt. Blum’s body washed up near the Scottish shore. “He gave his life for someone else,” Murray Blum said. “He didn’t have to jump overboard, but he did.”
Calvin Blum was only 14 and at home with his parents in Brooklyn when a Western Union messenger knocked at the door.
“It was a very traumatic period,” Calvin Blum said. “First, we got the telegram. Then, in a piecemeal way, every few weeks, they started sending his goods back home — clothes, phonograph records, barbells, uniforms. Each time, it was like reopening the wound.
“My parents never got over losing Murray,” said Calvin Blum, now 86 and living in White Lake, Mich. “They were never the same happy people they had been. But they were never angry. They never asked, ‘Why did he do this?’ They knew that was him. And I’ve always been very proud of him.”
On June 6, 1944 — D-Day — Lt. Blum was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal, the highest medal bestowed upon members of that service.
“His heroism was further sanctified when, in his attempt to rescue the drowning man, he gave his own life,” Adm. Emory Scott Land wrote in a letter to the Blum family on behalf of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “His utter disregard of the odds against his own survival was a heroic manifestation of the spirit which so inalienably characterizes the men of the United States Merchant Marine.”
Lt. Blum was later honored at the 1958 dedication of the American Memorial Chapel at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at which his parents met Queen Elizabeth II. Also, a Liberty Ship was named in honor of Lt. Blum, and his life has been documented in an exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington, D.C.
Murray Blum said his father, Monte Blum, also a World War II veteran, often reminisced about Lt. Blum. But Monte Blum, who as a diver with the U.S. Army 1061st Engineer Battalion had the task of recovering soldiers’ bodies from the English Channel, rarely spoke about his own wartime experiences, which included being seriously wounded in combat.
“I’m not even sure how exactly he got hurt during the war,” Murray Blum said of his father, who died nearly nine years ago from medical complications stemming from his war wounds. “I guess he didn’t really want to think about it.”
Murray Blum credited his sister for “getting the ball rolling” with the family’s involvement with the visitor center project. “She’s been working on this for a long time, communicating with everyone and making contacts, including with the [ABMC],” he said.
‘Seeing my name’
Murray Blum said he and his son will be special guests of the ABMC at the ceremony and receive a special tour of the visitor center and cemetery, which Blum has visited on two other occasions.
Of his first visit to his uncle’s grave in the 1980s, Murray Blum said, “It was very emotional just being there and seeing my name and going through the cemetery and seeing all the names of the kids buried there.”
Jordan Blum will miss four days of classes at the Park School, but said he does not mind. “I’m excited about it,” he said of the trip. “I know he was a lieutenant and a radio operator, and that my dad is named after him.”
Murray Blum is confident that the visit, which will include a quick jaunt to Paris, will make a lifelong impression on his son.
“I want him to know about Murray and what he did. I want him to share it with his classmates,” he said. “It was just selfless, without even thinking. That’s who Murray was, and I’m very proud.”
Lieutenant Blum is buried in Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, Cambridgeshire, England; Plot E, Row 0, Grave 51.
