SEAL of Honor

by Gary Williams

  It did not take a man with Lasky’s years of experience to know things were not going well. Based on these early reports, Captain Lasky recommended that the Crisis Action Center begin continuous operations, in order to keep Rear Admiral Joseph Maguire informed of the situation. At the time, Maguire reported to General Bryan D. Brown, commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which controls and coordinates all special operations forces (SOF) components from each branch of the military and is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida.

  Word of the engagement spread quickly. At 8:00 AM Pacific standard time (PST) in the NAVSPECWARCOM Operations Center, Commander Ray Major, the operations officer, received word that all members of the SEAL unit and those on the rescue helicopter had been declared DUSTWUN (Duty Station Whereabouts Unknown). Also on duty was Lieutenant Commander Chad Muse, who was serving as the assistant operations officer after recently returning from a seven-month tour in Iraq. He immediately recognized the names of Lieutenant Murphy and Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy. Muse worked with Murphy when both were assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT-1) in Pearl City, Hawaii, and again when Michael served as his operations officer for the Middle Eastern training exercise Early Victor in 2002. Commander Major instructed Muse to stand by to travel with the Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO).

  Naval Special Warfare is an extremely tight and close-knit community. It is common practice to dispatch with all CACOs an officer who either knows the sailor or the family. For Lieutenant Commander Muse, this was his unwritten sworn and solemn obligation, because both he and Murphy were Navy SEAL team leaders, each a member of a brotherhood, a community of elite warriors to whom the word “team” is not just a word or slogan, but the very essence of who they are. When he saw Michael’s name on the list, he knew he was going to New York and began to prepare for the most difficult assignment of his military career. With orders to connect with Lieutenant Widenhofer before going to the Murphy home, Muse was dispatched to provide the family with answers to nonclassified operational questions.

  Long Island, New York

  By 5:00 PM Maureen had already received telephone calls at home, including one from Heather, who was nearly hysterical. In a panic, she told Maureen about her attempts to obtain information through NAVSPECWARCOM in San Diego. She was upset because she was told that no information could be released to her because she and Michael were not married. “Heather, we don’t know anything. Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Just try and calm down. Michael has been deployed before and we’ve heard nothing from the Navy,” Maureen said in an effort to comfort her. However, neither Heather nor Maureen was comforted by their conversation. In fact, Maureen later remarked that Heather’s call only heightened her concern as she watched the news with John, who had returned home from the pool.

  Following the workday, Dan prepared for a quiet evening at his home in the Long Island town of Medford. He and Maureen, who had been divorced since 1998, had not yet spoken to each other about the disturbing news reports. In the absence of anything specific to Michael, there was little to do but monitor the local and national news reports as information regarding the engagement in Afghanistan garnered increasing coverage. While certainly concerned, Dan was still clinging to his belief that Michael was in Iraq when Heather arrived at his door, still very upset by the news of the helicopter crash. Dan anxiously retrieved a photograph of Michael and his team and showed it to her. “See, they are wearing desert fatigues. Michael is in Iraq,” he told her, perhaps as much to assure himself as to comfort her. But Heather was unconvinced and asked, “What about those mountains in the background?” She was not the first to question Dan’s belief about the location of the photo—his friend Anthony Moncayo, an Army lieutenant colonel, had questioned Dan’s belief two weeks earlier. Trying not to add to her anxiety, Dan replied in a deliberately calm voice, telling her that “there are mountains in Iraq, especially in northern Iraq near Mosul,” but to no avail. Within moments Heather was off to Maureen’s. Dan began to share her concern, particularly after he learned through news reports that those who died were Navy SEALs.

  At Maureen’s, Heather joined her and John as they anxiously watched the news. As his mother and Heather become more focused and distressed by the reports coming out of Afghanistan, John too became more concerned. When Heather left for home she gave Maureen the telephone number she had called earlier, hoping that she would have better luck obtaining information about Michael. Maureen called immediately. She was pleasantly greeted by a woman who answered the telephone. After Maureen identified herself, the lady stated, “Mrs. Murphy, I know your son and he is a really good man. I just wanted you to know that. I’ll put you through now.” But there was still no news from the Navy.

  At 9:00 PM reports continued to be broadcast on several news channels, but Maureen had heard nothing back from Navy officials. By this time Lieutenant Commander Muse had arrived from San Diego. By 11:30 PM Maureen and John still had heard nothing. “We haven’t heard anything, so this is good, right? See, no news is good news,” Maureen said to John as they climbed the stairs to their bedrooms. John agreed and began working on his computer, but despite not hearing anything official from the Navy, he was concerned.

  Approximately ten minutes later, Maureen, a devout Roman Catholic, had completed her evening prayers, changed her clothes, and was standing next to her bed when she heard a car enter the Astoria Federal Savings bank parking lot across the street. Through the open windows above the head of her bed she heard three doors open and close. In the dark silence of the heavy summer night the sound traveled quickly, echoing off of the surrounding houses, carried by the gentle breeze that stirred the window curtains. Sheer terror struck her as she became frozen by fear. John, having heard the car doors too, went downstairs, where he stood in the foyer. His mother stood motionless in her room, overcome by a cold sweat as her heart pounded in her chest and she struggled to breathe.

  As the mother of a member of the U.S. military, she was well aware of the notification procedure. Although able to stand, she could not move. Fear had immobilized her, and she was hoping that those getting out of the car were not coming to her door but perhaps only visiting neighboring households—or maybe they were the neighbors returning home. After what seemed like an eternity, the deafening sound of the doorbell pierced the silence; both John and Maureen were startled by the sound, shocked back to their senses. “John, don’t answer the door,” his mother said, but it was too late. He was already in the process of slowly opening it when he heard her plea. “Mom, there are three Navy officers here to see you,” he said in a somber, nervous tone.

  By this time Maureen had changed her clothes and descended the five stairs to the landing. Visibly shaking and now covered with perspiration, she saw the officers in full dress uniform standing on the other side of the outer glass door, their uniform brass glistening under the porch lights. Lieutenant Commander Muse and Commander Coyle were in their dark uniforms and Lieutenant Widenhofer was in his summer whites. She instantly saw the SEAL Trident on Muse’s uniform. Before the men had even spoken a word, she took a step back as her knees buckled and she yelled, “No!” John reacted quickly and braced his mother from falling.

  Father Coyle immediately tried to comfort her by telling her “all we know right now is that Michael is missing. We don’t know anything else. Michael is missing.” Terrified, she looked first at Father Coyle for several seconds and then took a deep breath before apologizing for her actions and invited the men into her home. All three men removed their uniform caps as they stepped inside. It was Father Coyle who introduced himself, Muse, and Widenhofer. After directing everyone to the living room, Coyle turned his attention to Maureen, now visibly trembling, and assisted her into the room. There, he encouraged her to sit, but she was too nervous to sit and remained standing. Each of her visitors, all consummate gentlemen and professional military officers, remained standing until Maureen apologetic
ally asked them to be seated. Each responded with a thank-you but remained standing close to her, as did John. John shouted, “It’s the helicopter, isn’t it. It’s about the helicopter.” Father Coyle replied calmly, “No, Michael was not on the helicopter. He was on a ground mission and right now all we know is that he and his team are missing.” Muse then briefly explained his professional relationship with Michael and in very general terms went over the mission that Michael was leading, and answered Maureen’s questions. Again, Father Coyle attempted to get Maureen to sit down, and once again she declined politely. All remained standing while Father Coyle led everyone in prayer.

  Following the prayer, Widenhofer more fully introduced himself and informed Maureen that he also needed to contact Michael’s father. Maureen cleared her thoughts, reoriented herself to the present, and made the call to Dan, who was at his home, just a ten-minute drive away. In a deliberately slow and calm voice she said, “Danny, the Navy is here saying that Michael is missing in Afghanistan. Do you want me to send them over to your house?” Stunned, Dan could only exclaim, “What!” After repeating herself more slowly, Dan’s thoughts were immediately taken back to the two earlier conversations with Heather. He asked Maureen to keep the three men there and told her he was on his way. It was just after midnight.

  On his way, he called his sister Maureen and her husband, John Bogenshutz. He asked his sister if she had “heard about the helicopter that went down in Afghanistan.” Maureen said yes, and became immediately more alarmed as she detected the strain in Dan’s voice. “Michael is in Afghanistan ... he was not on the helicopter, but he was on a mission and he is now missing. The Navy is over at Maureen’s house and I am going there now,” he told her. Maureen told her husband about the call. Both were deeply concerned. After several minutes of silence and staring at the ceiling, it was clear to her that she would be unable to sleep. Full of anxiety and frustration, she looked at her husband and said, “Well, this isn’t going to work. I can’t just lie here. I think we have to go over there.” Within minutes they were in the car and on their way. As he drove to Maureen’s, Dan replayed the day’s conversations with Heather over and over in his head. He turned into the driveway, slammed on the brakes, and rammed the transmission into park while opening the car door, then jumped out and closed the door in a single motion. Hearing the car door close, all three Navy officers rose and looked at the front door just before Dan burst through it and came into the living room.

  Lieutenant Commander Muse then went over the same information previously given to Maureen and John, and introduced Lieutenant Widenhofer and Commander Coyle. The Murphys drew some comfort and a glimmer of hope from their words. Without confirmation, there was always hope, they believed. As Widenhofer finished, John and Maureen Bogenshutz arrived, and Widenhofer again went over the information that was known.

  Assembling the Support Network

  Around 12:30 AM, Maureen telephoned Heather and her family. She then called her sister Eileen Hillicke in Wilmington, North Carolina. Eileen, who was Michael’s godmother, booked the first available flight for later that morning. Maureen also called her neighbors and close personal friends Tony and April Viggiano and neighbors Joe and Benilde DeCabo, who arrived within minutes, as well as her cousins John and Linda McElhone. Linda was Maureen’s closest friend and confidante.

  She also called her nieces Cathy, who was in college in Ohio, Colleen, who was at her home in New Hampshire, and Kelly, who lived in nearby Huntington on Long Island. The Murphys were particularly close to the girls as they had raised them after their father Billy Jones, Maureen’s younger brother, died of cancer. Cathy and Colleen left immediately for Long Island, while Kelly arrived within the hour.

  The three Navy officers and the family members remained with the Murphys for the next three hours, leaving them just after 3:30 AM. During that time Father Coyle led everyone in prayer on multiple occasions. Although not everyone in the room was Catholic, all were Christians, and prayed for His will to be done; they believed that His will included Michael’s safe return to those who loved him. Muse gave the family his hotel address, room number, and the room’s telephone as well as his personal cell numbers, and all three officers promised to return later that morning. Dan too left for home, but there was very little sleep for any member of the Murphy family on that night.

  By the time everyone retired to their homes and hotels, Michael’s status was still unknown, but one thing was clear: both the Murphy and Duggan families were blessed with an extensive support network—military and civilian—a support system that became both necessary and sustaining in the days that followed the initial news. After strong encouragement from those arriving, Maureen finally agreed to surrender her attempts to meet the emotional needs of those gathered around her and allow them to begin to meet her needs and those of Dan and John as well.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Vigil for the Valiant

  They’re falling—either literally or figuratively—and you have to catch them. In this business I can’t save his life. All I can do is catch the family while they’re falling.

  —MAJOR STEVE BECK, Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO), United States Marine Corps, quoted in Jim Sheeler, Final Salute

  Thursday-Friday, June 30-July 1, 2005

  Having only a few hours of sleep, Maureen called the O’Callaghans at around 8:00 AM. Jimmie and Owen O’Callaghan, who also lived in Patchogue, were lifeguards with Michael and were his best friends. She remembered that Michael had told her to call Owen and Jimmie if anything ever happened to him, that they would “take care of everything.” They arrived within twenty minutes.

  As promised, arriving at about 9:00 AM in their dress uniforms were Lieutenant Commander Muse and Lieutenant Widenhofer, who remained for the rest of the day. Muse made frequent telephone contact with NAVSPECWARCOM, although most of the calls were very short. With Muse tied up with NAVSPECWARCOM, Widenhofer answered questions in between television news and updates from the Murphys’ many extended family members and friends. Desperate for information, any information, the Murphys relied on the public news media despite their tendency for reporting unverified information as truth. The Navy, on the other hand, would only provide information that was properly verified.

  The Murphys followed the Navy’s advice and directed all media inquiries to the Navy’s Office of Public Information. Always attentive to the needs of others, Maureen insisted that both Muse and Widenhofer return tomorrow in comfortable street clothes; both agreed. After a midmorning telephone call to NAVSPECWARCOM, Muse related that at least two helicopters carrying Navy SEALs responded to Michael’s call for help. One helicopter was hit by an RPG and the other was forced to abort the mission, and there had been no further contact with Michael’s team.

  Having just arrived at work, Beth Risotto received a call from Jimmie O’Callaghan telling her of Michael’s status. Being a close friend of Heather’s, she called her, but without having to ask, she knew that Heather was aware of the situation. Leaving work, she went to the Duggan home in Mount Sinai, located directly north across Long Island from Patchogue, where she stayed for the next week.

  The next day the Murphy family had begun to mentally sort through the information they had received and also accept the fact that the worst possible news could be coming. The O’Callaghans assumed the duties of managing the overwhelming number of telephone calls and personal messages and donations; but despite their best efforts, there was no way to keep track of those who had called or sent contributions or dropped off food items. The dining room table was completely covered with fruit baskets and the living room full of flowers and planters. The kitchen table and counters were covered with food donated by caring individuals and businesses. As the national and international media intensified its coverage of the events in Afghanistan, local media had begun camping out at the Murphy home. In Mount Sinai, in between news broadcasts, Beth and Heather spent their time taking walks and telling “Murph” stories and returned to the Mur
phy home each evening.

  Saturday, July 2, 2005

  After speaking to NAVSPECWARCOM, Lieutenant Commander Muse explained to the Murphys that the Navy was tracking a single beacon moving down the mountain. Tentatively, Maureen asked, “So is this good news for the SEALs or for the Murphy family?” Cautiously, Muse responded, “The Murphy family.” While both exhaled with some relief, they knew that the relief was only temporary. Maureen turned to Dan as they realized that there appeared to be only one survivor and stated, “It’s not Mike. It’s not Mike. There is no way he would be the only one out.” Dan and Maureen realized that Michael’s character and integrity would not allow him to be the sole survivor. They knew that he would sacrifice himself to allow someone else to be the sole survivor, but it was simply not in Michael to be the only one out.