Top ROTC Senior Named Lt. Gen. Hal Moore Award Recipient

Matthew Murray ’13, a criminology major, was named this year’s Lt. Gen. Hal Moore Award recipient. The award is given annually to the top cadet in the UT Spartan Battalion ROTC program.

“From the moment I joined the program, I was shown the importance of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage, such values which are not only to be possessed but lived each day,” said Murray, of Brandon, FL. “Because of this, I knew becoming an Army officer would not just be a job but a profession in which I could proudly serve.”

Murray’s name will be added to a plaque in the General Peter J. Schoomaker ROTC and Athletics Building, he’ll receive the book about Moore called, We Were Soldiers Once … and Young, and a stipend. The award was established by John Sykes to honor Moore, who was his friend.

Murray, the ROTC battalion commander, is marrying fiancé Arielle Brown on May 25, and a portion of his award stipend will go toward their honeymoon in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC.

Murray heads to Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA, on July 26 where he will complete the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course (IBOLC), Airborne School and Ranger School. From there, he’ll report to 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) 25th Infantry Division, at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage, AK.