Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy was an avid defender of others — a trait that possible led him to affix the Navy and grow to be one of many service’s elite SEALs. In Afghanistan, he gave his life to save lots of his group members from an awesome drive. That sacrifice made him the primary sailor since Vietnam to earn the Medal of Honor, and it impressed a Memorial Day problem that is actually caught on.
Murphy was born Might 7, 1976, in Smithtown, New York. When he was nonetheless very younger, his mother and father, Dan and Maureen, moved him and his brother, John, to Patchogue on Lengthy Island. Murphy was good at sports activities, and he started sticking up for others at an early age — his household stated he bought right into a combat at college whereas defending a pupil with disabilities.
After graduating from Patchogue-Medford Excessive Faculty in 1994, Murphy went to Penn State College. He performed ice hockey whereas there and lifeguarded through the summers. In 1998, he graduated with honors with two levels, one in political science and one in psychology.
Murphy was accepted into just a few regulation faculties, however he selected a unique path — he needed to grow to be a Navy SEAL. He took mentoring periods on the U.S. Service provider Marine Academy in Kings Level, New York, earlier than being accepted into Officer Candidate Faculty in September 2000. He was commissioned into the Navy that December.
By July 2002, Murphy had earned his trident, making it by means of all of the programs required to grow to be a SEAL. He deployed for the primary time to Jordan in October 2002, adopted by extra deployments to Qatar and Djibouti.
In early 2005, Murphy was assigned because the assistant officer in command of Alfa Platoon, SEAL Supply Car Staff 1. They quickly deployed to Afghanistan in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
On June 27, 2005, Murphy took half in Operation Purple Wings because the chief of a particular reconnaissance group. Their mission: to find Ahmad Shah, a high-level anti-coalition militia chief within the Hindu Kush mountain vary east of Asadabad. With him had been three fellow SEALs: Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson and Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell.
The next day, the 4 males had been in a rugged, enemy-controlled space excessive within the mountains after they got here throughout three goat herders, who they questioned and let go. It is believed that these males sympathized with the enemy and reported the Individuals to the Taliban. Because of this, as much as 40 enemy fighters swarmed the steep face of the mountain the place Murphy and his group had been positioned, and an enormous firefight ensued.
All 4 SEALs had been injured shortly, however they refused to surrender the combat. Ignoring his personal wounds, Murphy inspired his males to remain robust and commenced calling for assist to get them out of there. His calls weren’t going by means of, although, possible due to the distant terrain. So, Murphy fought his approach towards open territory to discover a higher place to transmit a name.
Regardless of taking up direct enemy fireplace, Murphy managed to get in contact with backup forces to offer them their location and ask for rapid assist. At one level through the name, he was shot within the again and dropped the transmitter. However he picked it again up, completed the decision and fired again on the enemy. Regardless of extreme wounds, he then made his approach again to cowl with the opposite males.
In response to his rescue name, a MH-47 Chinook helicopter with eight extra SEALs and eight Army particular operators was despatched in to extract the 4 males. Nonetheless, because it bought nearer to the combat, it was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed, killing all 16 males onboard.
Again on the bottom, Murphy and the others continued to combat. Over the span of two hours, the lads battled the incoming enemy throughout hills and over cliffs. Ultimately, although, Murphy, Dietz and Axelson had been killed.
A rocket-propelled grenade blasted Luttrell over a ridge and knocked him out. When he wakened, the critically injured SEAL was capable of evade the enemy and discover some sympathetic locals who hid him in a close-by village for days. On July 2, 2005, U.S. forces had been capable of rescue him — all due to that decision Murphy made.
The stays of Murphy, Dietz and Axelson had been additionally recovered. Murphy is buried in Calverton Nationwide Cemetery in Calverton, New York, lower than 20 minutes from his childhood residence.
The 2005 firefight was the only largest lack of life for Naval Particular Warfare since World Warfare II. The one solace which may have been gained from it was that, through the battle, the 4 males on the bottom took out about 35 Taliban fighters.
For Murphy’s selfless management and braveness, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His mother and father obtained it from President George W. Bush throughout a White Home ceremony on Oct. 22, 2007. Murphy was the primary individual to combat in Afghanistan to be awarded the nation’s highest honor for valor.
Luttrell later stated of his compatriot, “Mikey was one of the best officer I ever knew, an iron-souled warrior of colossal and nearly unbelievable braveness within the face of the enemy.”
Murphy has been memorialized in some ways for the reason that story of their ordeal was first instructed. Through the years, a crossfit-style exercise grew to become a well-liked problem amongst health buffs to do on Memorial Day to honor fallen service members. It is now often known as “The Murph” in honor of Murphy, and it helps the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Basis.
The guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy was commissioned in 2012 in his honor.
Luttrell additionally wrote a e-book about their ordeal, referred to as “Lone Survivor,” which was made right into a film that discovered field workplace success. Actor Taylor Kitsch performed Murphy, whereas Mark Wahlberg performed Luttrell.
This text is a part of a weekly collection referred to as “Medal of Honor Monday,” by which we spotlight one of many greater than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who’ve earned the U.S. army’s highest medal for valor.
