LT, U.S. Navy — War on Terror
Michael Patrick Murphy was born on May 7, 1976, in Smithtown, New York, and raised in Patchogue, the son of Maureen and Daniel Murphy, a wounded Vietnam veteran. Known as “Murph,” he earned the nickname “The Protector” defending weaker kids at school — once pulling attackers off a special-needs child being shoved into a locker. After graduating from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1994, he earned dual degrees in political science and psychology with honors from Penn State in 1998. He declined law school for the SEALs: commissioned in December 2000, he graduated BUD/S with Class 236 in November 2001 and joined SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One in July 2002.
Murphy deployed with Foxtrot Platoon to Jordan, served with Special Operations Command Central in Qatar during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and planned operations in Djibouti. In early 2005 he deployed to Afghanistan as officer-in-charge of Alpha Platoon, wearing the patch of the FDNY fire company that had lost one of his friends on September 11th. On June 27, 2005, he led a four-man special reconnaissance team — himself, Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson, and Marcus Luttrell — into the mountains of Kunar Province on Operation Red Wings, a mission to locate the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.
Compromised by goat herders the team chose to release, the SEALs were soon surrounded by 30 to 40 Taliban fighters. Wounded himself, Murphy kept leading and encouraging his men. When his team’s calls for help failed, he fought his way into open ground to get a satellite-phone signal, exposing himself to direct enemy fire. He reached headquarters, gave his position, and requested immediate support — signing off with “Thank you” — then kept fighting from his exposed position until he was mortally wounded. A rescue helicopter was shot down, killing all 16 aboard; Luttrell, the lone survivor, was rescued by friendly villagers. On October 22, 2007, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to his parents — the first Navy Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.
Murphy was buried with full military honors at Calverton National Cemetery on July 13, 2005. The destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), the Murphy Post Office and memorial park in Patchogue, a combat training pool at Naval Station Newport, and a Navy SEAL museum in West Sayville all bear his name. The body-armor workout he designed — “Murph” — is performed every Memorial Day in his honor.
Sources: Wikipedia · Congressional Medal of Honor Society