Michael P. Murphy
Michael Patrick Murphy (born May 7, 1976 in Smithtown , Long Island , New York , † June 28, 2005 east of Asadabad , Kunar Province , Afghanistan ) was an American soldier .
Murphy was a lieutenant in the US Navy and served in SEAL's Special Delivery Vehicle Team ONE (SDVT-1) at Pearl Harbor . He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor , the highest military distinction in the United States of America, for his service during Operation Red Wings against a high-ranking Taliban leader near the border with Pakistan .
Life
Murphy grew up in Patchogue, New York on Long Island . He attended Patchogue-Medford High School until 1994 and then studied political science and psychology at Pennsylvania State University , which he graduated in 1998. In September 2000 he entered the Officer Candidate School in Pensacola , Florida , and retired as Ensign in December 2000 ( NATO rank code OF-D, roughly equivalent to an ensign ).
In January 2001, Murphy began training as a Navy SEAL in Coronado , California. After completing his training, he became a member of the SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE (SDVT-1) in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . After deployments in Qatar and Djibouti as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom , Murphy took over the Alpha Platoon of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE as a platoon leader in early 2005 , was relocated with his unit to Afghanistan and was deployed there as part of Operation Enduring Freedom .
Operation Red Wings
On June 28, 2005, Lieutenant Murphy led a four-member Navy SEAL reconnaissance force that was helicoptered down in a remote mountain area east of Asadabad to locate Taliban leader Ahmad Shah . The team consisted of Michael P. Murphy himself, Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, Gunner's Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny P. Dietz and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell .
Shortly after landing, the group came across three Afghan shepherds. Marcus Luttrell later reported in his book "Lone Survivor" that the group had considered killing these random witnesses in order not to be betrayed by them to the Taliban operating in the region. However, since these were civilians and not combatants, Lieutenant Murphy decided, according to the rules of engagement at the time , to let the shepherds move on. The shepherds actually alerted the Taliban, who attacked the US soldiers who had already withdrawn, assuming they had been exposed.
In the following firefight with an unknown number of Taliban (various statements range from 10 to 50 fighters), all four SEALs were initially wounded. Lieutenant Murphy went out of cover to radio for help from an unprotected position and was fatally wounded in the process. Matthew G. Axelson and Danny P. Dietz were also killed in the skirmish. Marcus Luttrell survived seriously wounded, was able to hide from the Taliban and was later discovered by Pashtuns . They took him to their village and hid him from the Taliban until he was brought to safety by US troops.
A hastily improvised rescue operation for the SEALs failed and resulted in further losses. A Night Stalkers MH-47 Chinook helicopter with eight SEALs and eight Night Stalkers on board was hit by a grenade from an RPG-7 and crashed, killing all 16 soldiers on board. In a search operation that followed shortly afterwards, the bodies of Murphy, his team and the 16 US soldiers were recovered and the seriously wounded Marcus Luttrell was saved.
Michael P. Murphy was buried on July 13, 2005 in Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island .
He was portrayed by Taylor Kitsch in the 2013 film Lone Survivor .
Honors
- On October 22, 2007, Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .
- The destroyer was on 7 May 2011 (Murphy's 35th birthday would have celebrated that day) DDG-112 ( Arleigh Burke-class destroyer ) of the US Navy on the name "USS Michael Murphy" baptized .
- The Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy United States Post Office in Patchogue, New York and the Navy (SEAL) Lt. Michael Murphy Memorial Park on Lake Ronkonkoma in Brookhaven, New York, named after him. Murphy had grown up in both Patchogue and Brookhaven.
- In honor of Lt. Murphy has a crossfit workout named after him. "Murph" consists of
A mile run, then 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, and then another mile run. The workout is carried out either with a weight vest or a protective vest. It was Lt.'s favorite workout. Murphy.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Afghanistan War Medal of Honor Recipients , Michael P. Murphy on the US Army Center of Military History website , accessed January 9, 2014.
- ↑ "Navy Christens Guided-Missile Destroyer Michael Murphy" , accessed January 9, 2014.
http://www.aspencrossfit.com/the-story-behind-murph/
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Murphy, Michael P. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Murphy, Michael Patrick (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American military, Lieutenant in the US Navy, SEAL |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 7, 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Smithtown |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 28, 2005 |
| Place of death | east of Asadabad , Kunar Province , Afghanistan |