Memories of Service 2 - James Murray

In his matter-of-fact way, James Murray reflects on some of the horrors of the War in the Pacific. Joining the New Zealand Navy at 17, Murray found himself aboard an American destroyer, watching the first atomic bomb explode above Hiroshima. “We thought they’d blown up Japan,” he says. Earlier, aboard HMNZS Gambia, he’d watched Japanese kamikaze planes attempting to sink the aircraft carriers his ship was trying to protect. Later he was among the first to land on the Japanese mainland, helping take control of the Yokosuka Naval Base.

One of the biggest naval battles there in the Second World War was Okinawa. We battered that place for four days.

– James Murray

Key Cast & Crew

David Blyth

Director, Interviewer

Patricia Stroud

Producer, Research

Jed Town

Composer

Edward Larsen

Editor

Simon Schueller

Camera, Sound