“Every time I come visit George, I knock on his door and say, ‘Permission to see the Commander, sir,’” Bob Murphy, 89, of Atlanta says laughing. “And he responds, ‘Permission granted.’”

Such is the friendship of two Navy World War II veterans at Lenbrook, an Atlanta-based luxury continuing care retirement community.

George O’Connell, 96, of Atlanta is one of the oldest living Naval Academy graduates in the United States. He took part in the sinking of the first ship of World War II in the Pacific arena. He’s lived at Lenbrook for nine years. Two years ago, WWII and Navy veteran Bob Murphy, 89, of Atlanta, moved to Lenbrook. He heard whisperings that O’Connell was nicknamed “The Lenbrook Admiral.”

One day, Murphy walked up to O’Connell and saluted him, and that’s where the friendship and war stories began. “They prepare you to go into battle, but they don’t prepare you to go back to being a civilian,” Murphy said of their bond. The two men rarely discuss their time in service unless they are together.

As a naval aviator, Murphy fought in several key battles including the Mariana and Marshall Islands. He also flew coverage over the USS Missouri while Japan signed a peace treaty that ended WWII. Less than 200 miles away at any given time, Commander O’Connell served on the USS Salt Lake City at Okinawa, Marshall Islands and the battle of the Komandorski Islands.

Their stories are daunting and courageous. “I encountered four kamikaze during the War, all on different occasions,” O’Connell says. “But, I will tell you we shot down one really close to us – so close that it damaged our propellers.”

As a bomber on the USS Yorktown, Murphy said that flight missions never got easier. “The scariest moments for me came when I was approaching 8,000 feet on flight missions. I’d see anti-aircraft fire coming at me, and I knew I’d have to fly in it.”

On this Veterans Day, they say they hope Americans realize the true cost of war. “I read that eight soldiers died in Afghanistan,” Murphy said. “Those are eight fathers, eight sons, eight uncles, eight cousins, etc. It’s not a number. They are people.”

About Lenbrook
A premiere senior-living community, Lenbrook appeals to the active, discerning senior who wants a rich program of amenities and services, along with the convenience, security and continuity of an on-site health center. Their recent $166 million expansion includes 140 spacious residences which can be customized to each resident’s preferences and three, new state-of-the-art care floors — rehabilitation, memory enhancement and skilled care.

Lenbrook is also the recent recipient of multiple, national interior design awards and a five-year reaccreditation, which secures its ongoing designation as the only nationally accredited CCRC in metro Atlanta. Lenbrook, a not-for-profit, is located in Atlanta’s stylish Buckhead neighborhood and first opened to residents in July 1983.

For more information on Lenbrook, contact Rob Forrester, Schroder PR, 404.452.3377, rob@schroderpr.com