On April 8th, 1944, while flying a routine combat training mission over Napa, Army Air Force Lt. Murphy was instructing three other pilots on combat maneuvers when his aircraft went out of control at 5,000 feet and plunged into a dive. With the plane appearing headed directly for Napa's busy downtown business district, Lt. Murphy stayed with the aircraft and guided it into the Napa River, where it crashed and cost him his life. His sacrifice saved people in downtown Napa and workers returning from local war plants across the Third Street Bridge, and he was soon honored by the Napa city council and Mayor Charles F. Moffitt for his heroic self-sacrifice.