Erskine Sowell Murray

T/5 in Signal Co, Special : Radio A

Military occupational specialty: 776 (radio operator, low speed)

ASN#34806879

Born 1923 in AL, Died 2013

County of residence at enlistment: Walker County, AL

Other residence(s): Boldo, AL; Jasper, AL; Oakland, AL; Childersburg, AL; Scottsboro, AL; Montgomery, AL

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: stock clerks

College education after the war: Florence State Teachers College, Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University), Auburn Univ.

Source: Unit Shipment 10143-D, 23d HQ, from le Havre 23 June 1945; militaryyearbookproject.org/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army...; photo courtesy David Cantrell

Erskine Murray was born on July 2, 1923 in Boldo, AL, the fourth of eight children. His father was a farmer, and later a laborer with the WPA. Erskine attended Walker County High School in nearby Jasper. The tall, blue-eyed blond was nearly 20 when he graduated in 1943 (with his education possibly delayed by farm work), and his yearbook caption read: "Girls, girls, girls, who can think of anything more interesting? You mean there are other things? blue eyes."

Erskine had registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, and enlisted on May 20, 1943, right after completing his senior year. He attended anti-aircraft artillery school at Camp Davis, NC, before eventually being assigned to the Signal Company Special. He saw service in Europe with the unit during the war, and two of his older brothers also served—one in North Africa and one stateside.

He was discharged on October 31, 1945, but something had happened to Erskine during those two and a half years. Apparently, he was no longer the leisurely heartthrob, but focused on a career. According to his obituary, his "dream was to 'teach and develop' young minds to love education and learning as much as he did."

Erskine used his GI Bill benefits to earn his undergraduate degree in education at Florence State Teachers' College (now the University of North Alabama). While a student there, he fell in love with a classmate, Betty Jewell Gothard, and they married on March 1, 1947, moving into an on-campus apartment. Betty graduated a few months later and was awarded the College’s Turis Fidelis Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a graduating senior. She then got an on-campus job while Erskine completed his degree. The 1950 census shows them both working full-time as teachers—possibly Erskine's job was student teaching for his degree. He graduated in 1951 and was hired as a school principal in Baileyton, AL, where Betty was also hired as a teacher. At the same time, the couple pursued master’s degrees in education administration at Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, TN.

Erskine would go on to spend 37 years in public education administration, putting his classroom dreams largely on hold. Betty spent 32 years in the classroom. They also became the parents of two children in the early 1950s, Ron and Denise.

In 1954, Erskine wrote a remarkable letter to the editor of The Birmingham News, protesting a recent directive from the Alabama state superintendent of education, and referencing his own recent fight against totalitarianism during World War II. This directive, to implement an act recently passed by the Alabama legislature, would require a sticker to be pasted into every book in the school, indicating if the author(s) were, or had ever been, associated with communism or socialism. Erskine was not only concerned with the workload (which would fall on the teachers) but at the path this act was leading them down.

"It is downright un-American, for one thing. This legislation is aimed at our educational institutions which, if the people stand for it, may be the first step leading to raiding of homes and mass book-burning scenes, which we read about with much disfavor. These things can't happen in America? . . . Mr. Morgan [the bill's sponsor] may not be communistic, but he is certainly advocating a type of action that is as dictatorial as Nazism, which we Americans opposed bitterly to the tune of many, many killed and wounded.

"I can't help fretting a bit . . . when some fellow with a chip on his shoulder makes a wild stab at rescuing a democracy that is not lost from the hands of the Communists, and adopts Nazi strategy to do it."

This behavior didn't seem to do Erkine's career any harm, since he swiftly "graduated" from the role of an elementary school principal to that of a high school principal at Hanceville High School from 1955-1957. He then became the principal of Scottsboro High School (formerly Jackson County High School) in 1957, and from 1960 on he served simultaneously as the superintendent of the Scottsboro school system.

Erksine earned his doctorate in educational administration from Auburn University in 1969. He served as assistant superintendent of the Talladega county schools, and later as superintendent of the Talladega city schools.

In 1972 he moved to Montgomery to serve as the assistant state superintendent of education. While in that role, he also served as the interim president of Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Patrick Henry Junior College. He also served as the interim director of the Alabama Division of Rehabilitation Services.

Erskine retired in January 1985, and shortly thereafter was asked to serve as the interim president of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

Throughout his career he was a frequent speaker on educational topics at conferences, workshops, and PTA meetings. He also wrote many letters to the editor on education issues, including the importance of adequate school budgets.

Erskine was a Mason, a member of Civitan International, and an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Montgomery. His hobbies included hunting and fishing. His obituary reports that "he never had luck with deer or turkey, but brought home his share of rabbits and squirrels. He enjoyed fishing from Tennessee to Key West, and was pretty good at that too."

Erskine died on August 3, 2013 and is buried at Alabama Heritage Cemetery in Montgomery, AL.