Lt. Michael P. Murphy

Lt. Michael P. Murphy (http://www.navy.mil/moh/mpmurphy/images/image001.jpg)

The Medal of Honor recipient, Lt. Michael P. Murphy, was a man of great valor and courage. He was a Navy Seal who died almost 7000 miles away from his home while trying to keep us safe. Lt. Murphy and his friends were in a dire situation surrounded by insurgents and there was no way out but to sacrifice himself for his men.

Lt. Murphy was born on May 7th 1976 in Smithtown N.Y. and was raised in Patchogue N.Y. He attended Penn State where he received dual degrees in Political Science and Psychology. Mike was accepted to multiple law schools but decided to attend classes at the Merchant Marine Academy. After graduating Seal training, Lt. Murphy was sent on tours in Qatar and Djibouti.

Before being sent to Afghanistan, Michael was assigned as the assistant leader of ALFA platoon. Operation Redwing was one of Lt. Murphy’s missions where he and three other Seals were dropped into unfriendly territory to scout out a Taliban leader who had been killing Americans. The seals bumped into goat herders who might have been Taliban troops. Since there was no threat, the goat herders were let go. These goat herders went to the Taliban troops and alerted them. Between 180 and 200 Taliban soldiers surrounded the four seals.

The Taliban forces fired on the seals an pinned them down. The radio was the only hope for the four seals. They were all injured and would certainly die if nothing was done. Michael Murphy ran out to an open patch of grass where he sent a radio signal to the headquarters. He had no cover and was mortally wounded. All the seals except one were killed.

For his heroism, Lt. Murphy’s family was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor from President George Bush. He was the first Medal of Honor recipient in Afghanistan and the first Navy Seal to receive it since the Vietnam War. The surviving seal, Marcus Luttrell, wrote a book called Lone Survivor about the whole ordeal

Lt. Murphy is a hero to me because of his immense courage. He knew that if he went out into the open he would be killed or severely wounded. In a time of crisis, where men’s lives were in jeopardy, he kept his head making a selfless decision. Michael was a selfless man who gave his life for our freedom and I will always honor him.