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Shea Stanley
Ms. Douglas
UWRT 1100
3 October 2014
My Hero
Did you ever have someone you looked up to as a little kid? This hero could
have been your favorite TV superhero or even your favorite Disney Princess. Weve
all had someone we looked up to at some points in our lives. For me, that person
was someone I actually knew, I didnt need to look up to fictional characters to find a
hero, because I already had one of my own. That hero was my Pop-Pop: a soldier, a
federal agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Director of the
Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE). Even after all of that dedication he put into his job,
he was still a dedicated member of the Catholic Church, a loving husband of 54 years
to his wife he adored more and more every day, and a family man to his five
children. His accomplishments in his eighty five years of his life is really what makes
him my hero, his inspiring career path is what led him to his success with his work
and his life at home. His career path goes from serving in the army, later joining the
FBI, and then to directing the ALE and this is how he did it.

What is your full name?

Donald Martin Murray
What year were you born?
I was born in 1929.

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What college did you attend after high school?
I went to an all boys college called St. Josephs.
When did you graduate college?
I graduated in 1951.
Was this before or after you enlisted into the Army?
I graduated before I enlisted.
How long did you serve in the Army?
I served for about 3 years.
What led you to become interested in the FBI?
My interest in law enforcement led me towards that.
What was the training like to become an agent?
Well, it was sixteen weeks of information on federal laws, firearms, training, defensive
tactics, and similar federal law training.
What year were you initiated as a federal agent?
I was initiated in 1954.
What was your proudest moment while being an agent?
I dont know, I suppose it would be the moments when we had success in finishing a case
of an important investigation of interstate trafficking or murder on a military base.
Is there any case in particular that you will never forget?
No, there are several, and it is a long story but a couple of murders that occurred on the
military base at Fort Brack in Fayettetville, North Carolina. It was an investigation of the
murder of a wife and her children along with the stabbing of the husband, Jeffrey
MacDonald. The 911 operator recorded MacDonald calling 911 reporting that his wife

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and two children had been stabbed to death while he was asleep on the couch and he as
well had been stabbed. Later on in our investigation we eliminated many of our suspects
and veered toward the idea of MacDonald being out main suspect. He had the motive for
collecting insurance money and the medical training to know where to stab himself to
where the wound would not be fatal. After long hours of interrogations and questioning,
we finally got him to confess to the murder of his entire family and self-infliction of
physical harm.
Did being in the FBI affect your lifestyle?
I dont know that it did, the hours were rather long but it wasnt an eight-hour job. I
worked sometimes from 24 to 36 hours without going home, even though I lived within
the same area of my work.
With being a member of the Catholic Church, did the things you would discover in
a case ever make you question your faith?
I have been attending catholic school from grade school all the way to when I went to
college. Yes, my faith was tested, especially my years in the Army. But I never gave up
on my faith, having the patience to finish a case and find justice helped me know there
was a God helping guide me through my job.
Do you regret joining the FBI?
Absolutely not, although it was a very difficult and time-consuming job, I loved what I
was doing.

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Is there anything you learned specifically from your years as an agent?
Patience is key to work in that field of work. Cases arent solved as quickly they are on
T.V. shows; it takes months of processing in the courtrooms and paperwork to finally get
a case closed.
How long did you serve as an agent in the FBI?
I served for 25 years as an agent.
When did you begin working for the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE)?
I retired from the FBI on January 1st and then was hired as the director January 2nd into
the ALE, a state agency.
What is the ALE?
The department monitors and investigates drug trafficking along with the problems
within permits for ABC stores and businesses.
When was this state department founded?
It was founded in 1977, two years before I was chosen to be the director of the
department.
What were your duties as the Director of the ALE?
To ensure that the agents under my supervision performed the duties prescribed by the
state of North Carolina, enforcement of the state alcohol laws, and keeping tabs on the
operations of any business of selling alcohol beverages.
How long did you work as Director of the ALE?
I worked there as director for 13 years.

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What is the difference between your duties as an FBI agent verses the duties as
Director of the ALE?
As an FBI agent I was more hands on and personally worked criminal investigations. In
the ALE, I supervised a larger conduct of men and did not perform investigations, but
overviewed their investigations. You could say that the difference was more supervision
vs. more hands on work.
What year did you retire from the ALE?
I retired in 1992 after working for a total of 41 years in the Army, FBI, and of course
within the ALE.
How has the ALE changed since you left?
I really dont know that much because I have lost contact with those now working
Has the ALE grown or depleted since the year you retired?
As best I can tell is that it is about the same size.

After successfully completing this interview with my Pop-Pop, I really learned how I am
as a listener. Listening to the experiences that Pop-Pop lived through and the long years
of work he endured just mesmerized me to admire him even more than I had prior to the
interview. The conclusion I have towards my oral literacy is that in order to gain the same
success as Pop-Pop, I will need to work as hard as I can and know that I will have many
hours and years working the job, but all that matters is helping the people that deserve
justice. Im glad I chose to interview Pop-Pop, because there is no one else history I
would wish to learn about and the hard work they endured throughout their lives. The
importance of this assignment to me wasnt just getting it done, but more of learning

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about my familys past, but more importantly, my heros past. I have more respect for my
Pop-Pop then I ever thought I could have, Im so proud to be able to call him my
Grandfather. I think I did very well with getting into detail the duties of his work, the
years he worked within the jobs he did, and what specifically he did. When holding a job,
its not just about getting the job done, the job can affect you mentally and physically and
I think I did well in emphasizing the case that he will never forget. Im so lucky to have
been able to interview him and hope to be able to interview him again to find out even
more about my hero.