RiverDogs, Boeing to Induct Murphy, Kitchens into Hall of Honor

The Charleston RiverDogs and Boeing will host their third and final Hall of Honor induction ceremony of the 2022 season prior to Saturday night’s Boeing Military Appreciation Night at The Joe. The ceremony will recognize Major Ed Murphy of the United States Army and Colonel Gregory H. Kitchens of the Marine Corps (retired) as the seventh class of inductees.

The Hall of Honor is the most recent addition to Boeing and the RiverDogs joint military appreciation platform, which aims to honor and celebrate military families in the Lowcountry through various recognition programs. The team inducted two classes of two inductees each over the last two years. This season, there will be three classes inducted in total.

At each Boeing Military Appreciation Night, a minimum of two inductees will be enshrined into the Hall of Honor. A community military committee chooses the inductees from a long list of nominees, including many who are nominated through the Hall of Honor’s public nomination link.

All inductees will be recognized on the field on a Military Appreciation Night, and will have their story told on the RiverDogs’ Hall of Honor web site.

The ceremony will take place on the field at The Joe at 5:30 p.m. Saturday night prior to the 6:05 first pitch against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Media members are invited to attend.

About the Inductees

Ed Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17 years old and after graduating from the University of South Carolina he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant Armor Officer. After completing airborne and ranger school, he served as Company executive officer and battalion maintenance officer in the 82nd signal battalion. He completed his Masters in Military History at the Command and General Staff College. He then moved it Italy to become Deputy G-6 for the Southern European Task Force.

Murphy’s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with one OLC, National Defense Service Medal with bronze star device, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, NATO Medal, Master Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger Tab.

On April 6, 2005, a CH-47 Chinook carrying 18 passengers and crew members crashed in southeast Afghanistan killing all on board.  Major Edward John Murphy, 509th Signal Battalion, deputy J6 for CJTF-76, was one of the brave Soldiers lost in that crash.  To date, Ed is the only Army ROTC Graduate of the University of South Carolina to have been killed in the Line of Duty.  He posthumously received the Bronze Star, Gold Wahatchee medal and a Gold Order of Mercury.

Murphy’s family – wife Barclay and two grown children – have been active in Tuesday’s Children and other groups to connect with and help others who have lost loved ones defending our country.

Colonel Gregory H. Kitchens retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2016. He is a 1984 graduate of The Citadel and a former Enlisted Marine. During his 36-year military career he deployed to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanded Reserve units in Charleston and Puerto Rico, and was the Officer in Charge of the Marine Corps Reserve’s Marksmanship Training Unit and Shooting Teams. Among his military recognitions were the Justice Chambers Leadership Award, The Legion of Merit medal, and the Distinguished Pistol Badge for Marksmanship Excellence.

In addition to his service to the United States Marine Corps, Col Kitchens has lived and raised a family in Charleston SC. He has worked in construction, as an undercover narcotics agent, a private detective, a deputy sheriff for Charleston County, and a small a business owner in Mt Pleasant. He served his community as the President of the Patriots’ Point Foundation Board -proudly supporting our Maritime Museum- and as a member of the Vestry of the historic St Michael’s Church. He and his wife have long been involved in mentoring cadets from The Citadel.  His hobbies include camping, fishing, hunting, and competitive marksmanship.

Colonel Kitchens is married to the former Allston Allison, who is a retired physician. They will soon celebrate their 31st year of marriage. They have two daughters.  Elizabeth (28) teaches English in Dorchester County.  Ellen (26) is a student at MUSC.

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