Dr. Wick Murray Collection
Williamson “Wick” Murray PhD.
November 23, 1941 – August 1, 2023
On 1 August 2023 the profession of arms lost one of the most prolific contributors to the intellectual life of our community. Dr. Williamson “Wick” Murray, historian, author and teacher passed away in Fairfax, VA.
Wick Murray graduated from Yale University in 1963 with honors in history. He then served for five years as an officer in the United States Air Force, including a tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He returned to Yale where he earned his Ph.D. in military-diplomatic history. In 1977 he moved to The Ohio State University as a military and diplomatic historian. In 1987 he was awarded with the Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, Ohio State’s highest award for excellence in the classroom. He retired in 1995 as Professor Emeritus of History and continued to teach, lecture and write in the fields of military history and strategic studies. In retirement he impacted professional military education as a distinguished professor in a variety of institutions including service as The Matthew C. Horner Professor of Military Theory at the Marine Corps University, The Ambassador Anthony D. Marshall Chair of Strategic Studies at the Marine Corps University, The Harold K. Johnson Professor of Military History at the Army War College, The 1957 Distinguished Visiting Professor of naval heritage and history at the U.S. Naval Academy, and as a Minerva Fellow in the Strategy and Policy Department at the Naval War College. For over fifty years, his academic works have been seminal in developing military professionals and have also influenced the development of PME programs, defense policy and service-level strategies for adaptation and innovation.
Here, the MCA presents Dr Murray’s collected works and reviews of his books from the pages of the Marine Corps Gazette.
Click here to read Dr. Frank Hoffman’s Eulogy for Dr. Murray
Book Reviews
Reviews of books where Dr. Murray was an editor or author, as published in the Marine Corps Gazette.
| Title | Edition |
| New-Look Annual Reflects Changing Defense Environment: Review of Brassey’s Mershon American Defense Manual, reviewed by Maj F.G. Hoffman | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 80, Iss. 1, Jan 1996 |
| Dealing With the Challenge of Change: Review of Military Innovation in the Interwar Period, reviewed by LtCol F.G. Hoffman | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 9, Sep 1997 |
| Overview of War: Review of A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War, 1937-1945, reviewed by John H. Barnhill | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol 84, Iss. 9, Sep 2000 |
| Instant History: Review of The Iraq War: A Military History, reviewed by Col Jon T. Hoffman | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol 88, Iss, 3, Mar 2004 |
| Historians Weigh In: Review of The Cold War: A Military History. Dr. Murray has an essay in the book titled Dien Bien Phu. Reviewed by Andrew H. Hershey | Marine Corps Gazette Vol. 90, Iss. 2, Feb 2006 |
| The Dynamics of Adaptation: Review of Military Adaptation in War, reviewed by LtCol F.G. Hoffman | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 96, Iss. 3, Apr 2012 |
Dr. Murray’s Articles
Articles written by Dr. Murray himself, published in the Marine Corps Gazette over several decades.
| Title | Edition |
| Review: THE DYNAMICS OF DOCTRINE: The Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First World War, by Capt Timothy L. Lupfer | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 66, Iss. 6, Jun 1982 |
| Review: Mussolini Unleashed 1939-1941, Politics and Strategy in Facist Italy’s Last War, by MacGregor Knox | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 67, Iss. 3, Mar 1983 |
| Review: SILENCE WAS A WEAPON: The Vietnam War in the Villages, by Stuart A. Herrington | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 67, Iss. 4, Apr 1983 |
| One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 1, Jan 1997 |
| War, Theory, Clausewitz, and Thucydides: The Game May Change, But the Rules Remain | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 1, Jan 1997 |
| Degenerating into Pointless Hopelessness | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 3, Mar 1997 |
| A Glimpse of the Real World | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 7, Jul 1997 |
| War’s Harsh Realities | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 10, Oct 1997 |
| The Heart of the Matter: Fundamental Questions About Who We Are | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, Iss. 11, Nov 1997 |
| A Climate for Innovation | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 1, Jan 1998 |
| In Search of the Army After Next: Another Perspective | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 1, Jan 1998 |
| Absolute Devotion of the Common Soldier | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 3, Mar 1998 |
| Setting the Record Straight | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 4, Apr 1998 |
| Dueling Among the Clouds | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 5, May 1998 |
| On Classical Warfare | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 9, Sep 1998 |
| The Great War | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 82, Iss. 10, Oct 1998 |
| Leading the Troops: A German Manual of 1933 | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 83, Iss. 9, Sep 1999 |
| Decisive Battle and the Ghost of Napoleon | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 84, Iss. 7, Jul 2000 |
| Thinking About Cities and War | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 84, Iss. 7, Jul 2000 |
| A Company Grade Officer in Vietnam | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 84, Iss. 9, Sep 2000 |
| Military History | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol.101, Iss. 12, Aug 2017 |
| Mastering the Single Naval Battle | Marine Corps Gazette, Vol.103, Iss. 8, Aug 2019 |