The Soldier and the Seabee
A Tale of Two WWII Heroes and Their Schroon Lake Legacy. 7pm, Boathouse Theater. Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society 2026 Summer Lecture presented by John Murdock.
The presenter, John Murdock, is the grandson of PVT. Charles Irving Murdock, the soldier, and the step-grandson of Robert Goodwin Downs, the Seabee.
John will share the life and military service of his biological grandfather, Pvt. Charles Irving Murdock, who gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life during WWII and is buried in Brest, France. He will also talk about the Murdock family and their legacy, including his grandfather's connection to Camp Rondack at the south end of the lake.
He will then go on to share the history of Robert Goodwin Downs and his service as a Seabee at Iwo Jima and Nagasaki. In closing, he will talk about the Downs family's lasting impact on Schroon Lake, including Mountainside Acres, the marina, John Deere dealership, South Schroon Chicken Farm and the donation of the land for Mountainside Bible Chapel.
Murdock was born in Washington, D.C. in 1967. John spent every summer in Schroon Lake till he was 14 years old. When he was 17 years old, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1984 and proudly served for 20 years. After his retirement in 2005, he began to work at the Naval Air Facility (NAF) in Washington, D.C., located on Joint Base Andrews/NAF, MD where he is currently employed as the N2 Department Head.
Free and open to the public, donations welcome.
